Sword Art Online: The Assassin of Aincrad
by callofduty1944
Summary: Daisuke, a younger member of the Assassins, was excited to receive Sword Art Online for his birthday. However, he didn't expect for it to turn into a death game. Now it is up to him to step up when he realizes that the Templars may be involved with the turn of events. Can he and his friends eliminate the threats and find a way home? Or will the game get to them first?
1. Chapter 1

**Sword Art Online: An Assassin's Decree**

AN: Here is my attempt at a Sword Art/Assassin's Creed crossover. I can't guarantee it'll be 100% canon to SAO, but I shall try my best to keep the story in line with the original.

Chapter 1

**November 5, 2022**

Daisuke grunted with each push-up he counted off. His dark caramel hair was matted down with sweat. He kept going, despite having lost count at around sixty-five. So, he figured he'd keep going until his arms grew tired of doing the exercise. His father and grandpa oversaw his morning training from a small distance. The boy insisted on doing his morning workout, even though they said he didn't have to since it was his birthday.

Hideko, his grandpa, whom Daisuke affectionately referred to as "gramps," had to admit: his grandson was tenacious, but he needed to learn that even a man as young as he is has his limits, especially when it came to working out. And he would need to understand that if he wished to earn the rank of Master Assassin.

That's right. Daisuke, like his dad and grandpa, is a part of the legendary Assassin Order. This is a fact that he had known all of his life growing up and has been trained as one since then. He had yet to see or be any part of actual combat, but he still wanted to be ready when the day may come.

"All right, Daisuke. That's enough," Hikaru, his father, said to him. "Push yourself too much and you won't be able to even fight properly, let alone eat without your arms turning to jelly."

Daisuke exhaled and slowly stood back up from the push-up position. He raised his arms high, stretching his muscles that have endured many rigorous workouts before; this was just another one in the life of Daisuke Hinotashi. He grabbed his water bottle and took a swig of cold water.

"So, how does it feel to be another year older?" Hideko asked as his grandson made his way through the kitchen.

Daisuke snickered as he turned and answered, "No different than when I was fifteen last year, gramps." He placed a towel around his neck and made his way to the bathroom for a well-deserved shower.

Hideko took a seat at the table as Hikaru started on making his family breakfast. "Oh, how I wish I was that young again." Daisuke laughed quietly and continued up the steps. When he made sure his grandson was out of earshot, Hideko continued. "So, did you manage to get it?"

Hikaru turned and smiled as he broke the yoke on the eggs. "It wasn't easy, especially considering how long the line was just to get it. But, yes. I did. I can't guarantee if Ayako will be happy that she didn't receive one, but to my knowledge, she doesn't even like that kind of stuff."

"You're right about that," stated a female voice. It was Ayako, Daisuke's little sister. Down the stairs came the young girl of thirteen years wearing a school uniform consisting of a peach colored sweater, a white button up shirt, and a ruby red skirt. She had her caramel colored hair put into a braid that was draped over her left shoulder. Her hazel eyes looked at her dad. "However, that may change depending on what Daisuke has to say about this game!" Hikaru laughed and shook his head, continuing breakfast.

Daisuke came down dressed in his school uniform of a white button up shirt and black school pants. His black school blazer was held in his left hand as he fixed his collar with his right hand. "Man, I'm starving," he said, taking his seat. A plate with all of his favorite breakfast foods was set in front of him. He looked up at his dad with his family's hazel eyes and happily dug in.

The siblings walked to the bus stop to take them to school. While they waited, Ayako decided to give Daisuke her birthday gift. "Here." She handed him a small blue box tied with a white ribbon. "Happy birthday, big brother."

He accepted the small box and looked at his sister. "You know you didn't have to get me anything," he said to her.

"It's only fair, especially after you got me the necklace I always wanted for my birthday last year," she replied, looking at said piece of jewelry that hung around her neck.

Daisuke nodded in understanding and untied the ribbon. He lifted the lid to reveal a brown leather cuff with a watch body on it. On the face read "DH," his initials. "This…this is…"

Ayako giggled. "I know you've been looking at this watch every time we went to that store at the mall." Her face slightly fell as she continued. "Mom told me she wanted to get it for your seventeenth birthday before she passed…" Her voice trailed off.

Daisuke's heart skipped a beat. He looked at the watch and remembered how much he wanted it, almost begging his mom for it. She said she would get it only for a special occasion. And, now he did. He gently lifted the watch from the box and placed it on his right arm. The same arm then wrapped around his sister's shoulders in a gentle yet firm hug. "Thanks, Ayako. I love it. Now, let's go to school. Bus is here." The siblings stepped on the bus and left for another day of classes.

For the birthday boy, the day seemed to be flying, which he was more than thankful for. Lunch time soon rolled around and he was eager to eat. "Dad packed my favorite lunch! I can't wait," he said himself, the box tucked under his arm as he made his way to the cafeteria. Once there, he took his usual seat by the window overlooking the city. He opened the lid to reveal his favorite meal. It was a combination of his mom and dad's side of the family: his mom's recipe fried fish with his dad's signature spicy tuna rolls and a side of regular white rice.

Before he started to eat, there was an unceremonious flop in the seat across from him: it was his best friend, Kurogasa Yoshida. His blue hair was usually shaggy, but still maintained a standard style that still surprised Daisuke to this day. "Well, well, if it ain't the birthday boy! Happy birthday, Mr. Sixteen!" The two shared a high five.

"Thanks, Kuro! Man, today has just been a great day for me," he said, taking a bite of his food.

"Yeah? How's that?" Kurogasa asked, poking at his food.

"Classes have been flying, got my favorite lunch as well." He looked down at the watch on his wrist. "Even received a gift I've always wanted."

His friend swallowed his bite before he spoke. "Oh? You mean you got the new VR game?"

He shook his head, clearing the cobwebs. "S-Sorry. What?"

"You mean SAO?" The two turned to see another friend of theirs: Asuna Yuuki. The girl was a spitting of image of Ayako if she was older. Heck, Asuna agreed after first meeting her. "I received that game before leaving for school today. I bought it before it sold out online. I was fortunate that day!" She sat down next to Kurogasa.

"O-Oh, that," Daisuke said, suddenly losing his appetite. "No. I didn't get it, guys."

"WHAT?!" shouted his friends. "Daisuke, you said you would!" Kurogasa shouted.

"We were gonna play it together," Asuna added with a broken tone.

"I know, but I couldn't afford it. My job only pays so much, you two." The two moaned at the thought of not having their best friend play the game they agreed on. "Well, I guess I can try and install a view screen to watch you two," he jokingly said to them. It was enough to get the group laughing again.

The last bell echoed through the halls. Daisuke quickly closed his locker; he was almost late to pick up Ayako from school. The run to the shoe locker nearly broke the school track record. "Hey." He heard Asuna next to him, changing her shoes. "I just wanted to tell you-"

"Sorry, Asuna. Love to hear it, but I'm running late. Bye!" He took off like a bat out of hell.

"Happy birthday," she said, dropping a hand in defeat. Kurogasa placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. He'll see us at the party later," he reminded her. She perked up and followed her friend to said party.

Crap! I'm late! The thought repeated in Daisuke's head like a broken record. He found Ayako standing outside of her school gate, arms crossed. "Sorry! I promise not to be late again!" He clapped his hands together in apology.

Ayako couldn't help but laugh; she rarely saw her brother act like this. "You know, even with that new watch, you were only a couple minutes late." Daisuke looked at the watch face and saw that he was, indeed, only a couple minutes late. "Now come on!" The siblings ran to the bus stop to catch the bus home.

Daisuke felt like something was going on the moment he stepped on the front porch. The suspicion only grew as he opened the door to find the light on at the door, but not in the living room like it usually was. His senses as an Assassin were running on high alert, fearing that something might have happened to his family. "Hey, Ayako!" he called out.

"Here," she replied.

"D-Do you know if dad and gramps went somewhere?"

Ayako faked thinking for a moment. She knew what was going on and was just playing the part. "Don't think so. Why?

Daisuke scanned the room for anything suspicious. "Living room light's out. It's always on." He looked at the table to find a folded note that read "COME OUT BACK" in a handwriting he didn't recognize. His senses were in overdrive.

Ayako quietly giggled behind her brother. This is payback for what you did at my birthday two months ago! Turns out shoving her face in a slice of cake wasn't very funny like Daisuke thought. She watched as he opened the back door and was startled when a loud "SURPRISE" was heard from the yard. Suddenly, he found his face buried in the whole vanilla cake that had "Happy Birthday Daisuke" written in big blue icing letters. "Gotcha!" Ayako burst out in uncontrolled laughter.

Daisuke licked his lips and tasted the frosting mixed with big pieces of the fluffy cake added in. "Still tastes good," he said, wiping off his face with a towel. He noticed that there were two other people, in addition to his family, present at the party. "You two had something to do with this, didn't you?"

Kurogasa doubled over in laughter, his face as red as a cherry. "Dude, you should've seen the look on your face when you 'literally' ate the cake. Priceless!"

The birthday boy looked over at his sister's older doppelganger. "And what part did you play?" Asuna looked at him with an innocent face that said "I didn't do a thing" as she drank a cup of punch. "Uh huh. Okay," Daisuke said to her, walking up behind her with a convinced face. When she wasn't looking, Daisuke tickled her sides, causing her to spray the punch in her mouth all over his sister. Ayako screamed in disgust and Asuna immediately apologized. "HA! Now THAT'S payback!" He was laughing alongside Kurogasa while the two girls fumed at them.

The party was spent with lots of chatter and equal amounts of food. Daisuke was happy to see all of his friends and family show up. Yet, he still was saddened by the one missing person he really wanted to be there: his mother, Ako.

Like Ayako said earlier today, his mom would've bought him the watch. Keyword is "would've." Sadly, she passed away about a year ago. She contracted a serious illness and lost the battle. The family was devastated. Daisuke suffered the most, his grades dropping enough to keep him held back a grade and his health following suit. He was able to get back on his feet, but it wasn't easy and took quite a while.

Mom, I wish you could've been here more than just in spirit, he thought, taking a sip of his punch, but I'm another year older. And I bet you're proud of that, huh? He pictured his mom smiling down on him from the skies.

"Okay, everyone! We have one last thing for the birthday boy!" his dad announced. Daisuke snapped out his revelry. Asuna and Kurogasa carried over a box wrapped in red paper and a black ribbon sitting on top of it. "Happy birthday, Daisuke. This gift wasn't easy to get, but I guarantee you'll thank me for this one forever and ever…in push-ups." Hikaru ended with a smirk and a wink.

He nodded and started to tear at the paper covering the box, revealing the gift. And what it was left him speechless. "T-This…it's…how did you…" Daisuke found it hard to form a sentence.

"Hey, you'll get to play the game with us after all!" Kurogasa exclaimed.

The box in his lap was the new VR game system, the NerveGear, included with a copy of Sword Art Online, the latest MMO. "Getting that wasn't easy, but that's because of the line just to get the damned thing. I waited for at least a couple days just to get it. I knew you wanted it, so how could I say no?"

Daisuke trembled with joy looking at his birthday present. He felt like a little kid again as he jumped and wrapped his dad in the tightest hug he could manage. "Thanks a ton! This is awesome!" he shouted.

"Well, don't forget your grandpa," Hideko said from the sidelines.

"Gramps?"

"That's right. I knew you wanted it, so your dad and I made a deal: I'd give him the money for it and he'd stand in line to purchase the system." He stood up and walked over to his grandson. "What? You thought _I'd_ be the one to do the waiting? Ha! Think again." He lightly tapped Daisuke on the head with his cane. The smile on his face grew bigger when he also received a very tight hug. "Happy birthday, Assassin." He made sure no one heard the last part.

Best. Birthday. EVER! Daisuke shouted in his mind.

After the party ended, Daisuke invited Kurogasa and Asuna up to his room to set up the NerveGear. He opened the box to reveal the dark blue helmet with the letters **NG** on the front. It felt nice under his fingers as he slipped it over his head, feeling the cushion press against his dark caramel colored hair. The screen in the visor turned on and lit up. "Welcome to the NerveGear system," he heard a female voice speak into his ears. "New users should register their account before starting any gameplay with the NerveGear system. Please enter email, desired avatar ID and password." Daisuke entered his email, then thought about what to name his avatar. I could do one of the Assassin predecessors, but that not's very original, he thought. Maybe I could do a combination of names. Nah. Maybe an English name. He went with the first name that came to mind: "Dar-ren." He spoke each syllable while typing in his ID.

"Darren?" he heard Asuna ask.

"It's the first name that came to mind. I figured I'd go with a foreign name."

"Well, at least we'll know who to look for in the Starting City," Kurogasa said, leaning back in his friend's computer chair.

"Accepted," the voice said to Daisuke.

Asuna was sitting on the bed with the instruction manual in her lap. Her finger traced the sentence as she read, "The next step should be calibration. It says to pat the areas displayed on the screen until the icon turns green," she told him. Daisuke followed the instructions, patting many areas such as his shoulders, legs, knees, etc.

"Calibration complete. Beginning facial recognition scan." Facial recognition? Oh. I guess it's to recognize my presence and automatically log me in, Daisuke reasoned. "Scan complete."

"Awesome. Now, to plug in and-"

"Unfortunately, the Sword Art Online beta test has ended. Please log in at one o' clock in the afternoon on November sixth to begin gameplay." And just like that, the female voice dashed Daisuke's hopes of logging on and immediately starting gameplay.

Asuna placed the instruction manual back into the box and removed the clear case housing the game disc. The cover showed a lone horseman on a cliff, looking out towards the floating castle of Aincrad, the playing field for the game. The details looked amazing from the pictures she saw from some beta players on MMO forums. She was excited, but the feeling changed once she saw Daisuke's face. "Did…everything go okay?"

"You're all set up?" Kurogasa asked.

Daisuke sighed as he removed the helmet. "Yes, and yes." He set the helmet on his desk next to his bed and sat down next to Asuna.

"Then what's the matter?"

"I really wanted to hop right in and start playing, but the official login isn't until tomorrow afternoon."

"Well, that's what you get." Kurogasa snickered as he ruffled Daisuke's hair.

"Trying to play without us? Some friend," Asuna said, feigning hurt. She winked and laughed at him.

Daisuke joined in laughing. I was so wrapped up I completely forgot that it's gonna be the three of us together, he thought. I really wanted to jump right in. He stood and escorted his friends to the door, figuring he'd also walk them home to get some fresh air.

The walk home was a relatively quiet one for the three friends. But they enjoyed the quiet, only broken by the sounds of traffic and the city off in distance. "Well, this is my stop. I'll catch you two at the Starting City, one o' clock on the dot!" They exchanged high fives and hugs before he walked through his front door.

Asuna lived not too far away from Kurogasa and Daisuke, so the walk wasn't very long. "I can't wait to start playing. It'll be like a fantasy come to life!" Asuna shouted with glee.

Daisuke nodded in agreement. "And maybe, with any luck, the three of us can clear the whole game. 'Heroes of Aincrad!'" he declared in a high-and-mighty voice. Asuna couldn't help but laugh at her goofball of a friend. "Hey." She turned to him. "Thanks for coming out today. You and Kuro were the ones I was hopin' to celebrate my birthday with." He looked at the night sky, only a few stars twinkling. "We've been through a lot, us three."

"And we're stronger than ever. We'll be unstoppable!" Asuna excitedly added.

"That we will." The two met in a tight hug, not wanting to let go because of the chill. But, let go they did, and he made sure she got inside before turning back for home.

The next day was spent preparing for the SAO launch. Daisuke ate a sandwich he made for lunch while watching the trailers for SAO to increase his eagerness. He felt his phone buzz, notifying him of a text. It was a group text that included him, Kurogasa and Asuna.

_10 min! Get psyched! I am SO ready!_ –Kuro

Daisuke typed in his reply. _Rewatched release trailers 2 get pumped! Let's do this!_

_I'm ready wen you r _–Asuna

Daisuke quickly ran down and threw his plate in the sink and the soda can in the trash. "Have fun! Don't forget that dinner's at five thirty!" Hideko shouted from the den.

"Will do!" Daisuke answered back. He closed the door and inhaled deeply to calm his racing heart. With trembling hands, he inserted the disc and placed the helmet on his head. The clock read 12:58. "T-minus two minutes and counting," he said to himself. His phone buzzed one last time with a good luck message from Asuna in the group text.

12:59. "Let's see what this world has in store for an Assassin."

13:00. He spoke the activation phrase: "Link start!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**November 6, 2022**

When Daisuke opened his eyes, he found himself in a wide expanse of nothingness. He remembered speaking the activation phrase, then seeing the bright colors of the NerveGear system turning on and the check of all of his senses.

"Welcome to Avatar Customization for Sword Art Online. Please create your avatar," stated the same female voice from the setup.

Hmm, let me see, he thought to himself. The first choice was gender, and Daisuke decided to stay being a male. Why guys choose to be a chick in a game is beyond me. Next is hair style and color. He kept the color as is, but decided to grow it out to his shoulder blades so he could tie it up. He changed his face to look a little tougher and gave himself blue eyes. He always wished to have that color. For height, he boosted himself a few inches and hit **Accept**. The last screen appeared with a message that made Daisuke's heart leap with joy:

**WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE**

The screen disappeared. He was blinded by another bright light. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in, what he believed to be, the Starting City of Aincrad. He squinted when he looked up to the sky. When he looked at his hand, it was covered in a fingerless black leather glove. He clenched it, grinning when he could actually _feel _the touch of his skin. He wore a red long sleeved shirt with a steel armor back and chest plate and pants were black to match his boots.

"This…is amazing!" he shouted. More blue flashes appeared, signaling the arrival of more players. "Well, more are starting to show up. I guess I showed stick around and wait for Asuna and Kurogasa."

Two minutes later, he spotted a familiar face in the crowd. It was Asuna, dressed in a white long sleeved shirt with a red vest and skirt with a steel breast plate. Her legs were covered in white pantyhose and there were red boots on her feet.

"Asuna!" he shouted. When she turned to him, he was surprised to find her avatar looking no different than her actual self. "Really?" he laughed.

Asuna laughed at Daisuke. "What? Is that you, Daisuke?"

Daisuke felt his face get warmer. "Hey. It's a game where you can make yourself look like anyone you want! And you stayed the way you are?!"

"Of course! I think I looked fine enough to be my own avatar. But you! Aside from the hair color, you don't look like you at all!" Asuna continued to laugh, causing him to laugh even more.

"Hey, you two!" They turned to see someone that, like Daisuke, only looked slightly familiar. It was Kurogasa, except his hair was longer, his height was shorter and his light green eyes were now blood red. His outfit looked like Daisuke's, except his shirt was black and his pants were blue. "Finally caught up!"

Daisuke looked at Kurogasa's in-game ID. "Connor? Where'd that come from?" he asked.

"Like you're one to talk, _Darren_," Kurogasa teased. If his friend's face got any redder, he'd mistake him for a tomato. "Well, now that we're all acquainted, I think it's time we buy weapons. Crucial, no?"

"Very," the two replied.

* * *

The group made their way out of the main circle plaza to find the street lined with shops that sold many things from jewelry to food. It was hard finding a weapons shop in the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

"Here we are!" Darren announced. The trio perused the assortment of weapons that hung upon the walls like prized trophies. Darren decided on a regular one handed sword, Kurogasa chose a katana and Asuna went with a rapier.

"Now this feels cool!" Darren said as he equipped the sheath. Shame I couldn't have my Hidden Blades. Then, I'd be a true Assassin in Aincrad!

"Well, since we're here," Connor said, sheathing his katana, "I think we should go outside of town. Plenty of boars for leveling up."

"And how would you know that?" Asuna asked, arms crossed.

"Beta tester, remember?"

That's right, Darren remembered. He'd be telling us almost every day about how great the game was and couldn't wait to hop in. But, when it comes to knowing his way around the game, he's one I can definitely trust. "Well, then show us the way," he said, gesturing with his hand.

"Mmm, with pleasure, sir," Connor replied with a butler-esque accent.

The fields were very large with a length stretching as far as the eye could see. Grass tickled their boots as the group made their way through the field. "I can't believe this is virtual," Asuna said, shielding her eyes from the sun.

"It's almost too lifelike," Darren agreed.

Connor smirked as he spied a small mob of wild boars not too far away from where they currently were. "Okay, follow me," he said to his friends. "So, I'm guessin' you two have some idea of swordplay, correct?" They nodded. "Great, so I don't need to teach moves. However, you need to be aware of **Sword Skills**."

"**Sword Skills**?" his friends parroted.

"That's right. For example." He approached a boar and took a normal slash at it, attracting its attention. The boar in its rage charged at Connor, narrowly landing a hit on him. "Now that we have its attention, I'll show ya what I mean." He drew his katana back, activating a red gleam on the blade. "If you wish to use a **Skill** properly, you need to time it just right." The boar charged again, but was cut down as Connor streaked towards the lower level creature in a red blur. It exploded into blue pixels, a victory screen taking its place. He turned back to the two, smirking in victory. "Get the idea?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so," Darren said. He grabbed a small stone from the ground and tossed it at the boar, gaining its attention.

"Then let's see what you're made of," Asuna said.

Darren drew his sword, leveling it back for a swipe. The blade was shining with the same red gleam Connor used. The boar charged, Darren following suit. He tried to activate the Skill, but it didn't respond correctly, allowing the boar to slam him to the ground. He closed his eyes, thanking Kayaba for keeping the pain sensors on because he just had the wind knocked out of him. "Why didn't it work?" he grumbled.

"With all Skills, timing is _crucial_. Be off by one second and you'll find your health bar down a few points."

"Here. Let me try," Asuna said, drawing her rapier. Like the other two, she activated the same red gleam and charged at a boar, taking its health down to the orange. With another few swipes, she took the boar down, its body exploding into blue pixels. "Top that!" she teased.

Darren felt his face heating up. Not wanting to be showed up, he decided to try again, going for the same boar. He took a couple of swings to get its health down. "Okay, let's try again," he said to himself. He ran at the boar with his skill active. This time, the sword met its mark, killing the boar. His smile grew wider at the appearance of the victory screen. "I did it!" he shouted.

Connor clapped for Asuna and Darren. They're catching on quickly, he thought to himself. But they'll need to fight and train more to make it further in the game. "Okay, you two. What say we continue to level up?" They nodded in reply and continued to attack the boar mobs.

* * *

After a few hours of leveling up and a quick trip to the central market for supplies, Darren, Asuna and Connor found themselves in a field near a cliff edge. Asuna was sitting with her legs stretched out and her arms supporting her. Darren was laid back on the ground, feeling the soft grass under his fingers. "It's hard to believe that this is virtual. The only thing that sucks in the virtual world is you can't satisfy hunger in real life."

"Although the food isn't too bad," Asuna said with her eyes looking at the setting sun. "That restaurant in town was very good."

Connor picked at a few blades of grass, letting them fly away with the breeze. "Kayaba is a genius, but I do have to side with Darren on this one." The other two looked over at him. "The food may be good, but it never beats the real stuff. What time is it, anyways?"

Darren swiped open his menu, sitting up in shock. "Crap! It's five twenty! I'm supposed to be going down to dinner!"

"Now that I think about it," Asuna said, "dad wanted to take me out tonight to eat."

"As for me, Mom said she was making shrimp, my favorite. So," he said, standing up, "I think we'll all have dinner and meet back in say…three, four hours?"

"Four. If I know dad, he'll wanna be out for a while."

"Aw, man. But I wanted to play sooner!" Darren grumbled. Asuna gave him a pleading look. "B-But, I guess I can wait." He remembered Asuna spent very little time with her dad; he was a very busy executive who played a part in the VRMMORPG world in terms of sales and distribution, at least for one of the smaller corporations. He scrolled through the menu to reach the **Logout **button, but found it wasn't there. "Huh. That's odd." He scrolled his menu again.

"What's that?" Connor asked.

"The **Logout **button is gone. I can't find it anywhere."

"Should be in the main menu."

Asuna opened her menu to also find the button was missing. "Nope. It's gone on my menu, too."

Connor tried to deny their claims by opening his. "Look, it should be…" Now _he _couldn't find it. "What the hell?"

"I've heard of first day bugs, but this is ridiculous," Darren said, looking up at his friend.

"Guys, I've got a bad feeling about this," Asuna said in a quivering voice.

Shit, she's spooked, Darren thought. That's saying something; she's never scared.

A low bell rang through the skies. It drew their attention to the city. "What?" They vanished one by one in a blue light only to find themselves in the Starting City.

"Forced teleport?" Connor asked in shock.

Darren felt a hand gripping his shoulder. He found Asuna with an uneasy look in her eyes as more and more players started appearing like the group had.

A warning sound came from the skies along with a red hexagon, saying **WARNING**. More appeared with the phrase **SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT **inside of them. "Maybe it's gotta do with the logout problem," Darren heard one player say. A thick red liquid, equivalent to blood, leaked from between the spaces of the hexagons. It pooled and formed a large robed figure with no visible face under his hood. It reminded Darren of pictures he had been shown of what the typical Templar Grand Master wore, so naturally, he felt on edge at seeing this giant being.

"Is that the Game Master?" asked a random voice in the crowd.

Game Master? Darren wasn't sure who or what that meant; he had only played a couple RPGs and none contained a being.

The giant raised his hands as if he were giving a greeting to his guests. "Attention, players," the GM announced, "I welcome you to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba." Kayaba? The game creator? Connor was amazed that the man behind the amazement would appear before everyone in such a form. "And, as of this moment, I am in control of it."

"What the hell does that mean?" Darren asked himself.

"I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your menus- the **Logout **button. Let me assure you: this is not a defect in the game." The GM swiped open his menu, pressing a few buttons to disable the **Logout **feature. "I repeat: this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be." Darren's blood felt colder at this announcement. "You cannot log yourselves out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."

The crowd was less than pleased to hear this announcement and voice their displeasure. "What the hell does that mean!?"

"Are you serious!?"

"This can't be real!"

"Let's get out of here!" A boy and girl attempted to leave the arena, but were blocked off by an invisible wall. "Hey! I can't get out!"

"That's not possible. The system can't really do that?"

Darren listened in on one player's conversation with his friend. "…transmitter signal in NerveGear works just like a microwave. If the safety's disabled, it can fry your brain." Darren was feeling more and more uneasy about all that was happening right now. The increased grip on his shoulder suggested that Asuna was in agreement

"Couldn't someone cut the power?" the player's friend asked him.

"That won't work. The NerveGear has an internal battery."

Connor couldn't stop his hand from shaking. There's no way, he thought. This can't be happening, not right now. What's gonna happen to the real me?

"Despite my warning," the GM continued, "the families and friends of some of the players have attempted removing the NerveGear…an unfortunate decision to say the least. As a result, the game now has two hundred and thirteen less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world. As you see, international media outlets have 'round the clock coverage of everything, including the deaths." With that sentence came several screens of popular media websites, displaying the headlines about the two hundred and thirteen fallen players. "At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game."

Darren's ears picked up sobbing from several of the players. "Darren…" He turned to face Asuna, whose face looked pale as a sheet. "This…is real, isn't it?"

He drew in a shaky breath and looked back to the GM. "Unfortunately."

"It's important to remember the following: there is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system forever and the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain." The trio felt their blood turn to ice in an instant. Darren and Connor exchanged worried glances at the thought of losing each other or even Asuna. The crowd grew deathly silent; not a word was said. "There is only one way to escape now: you must clear the game."

"That's impossible," Connor said. "Even I in the beta with friends couldn't make it past Floor 3."

"Right now, you are gathered on Floor 1, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100 and you will clear the game." The crowd grew uneasy at the thought of having to advance all the way to the most difficult boss in the game without dying just to get back to the real world alive. "Last, but not least, I've placed a little present in the **Item Storage **in the menu of every player. Please have a look."

Everyone swiped open their menus and found the item. "A mirror?" Darren, Asuna and Connor took the item out. It was a small mirror the size of a tablet, showing nothing but the reflection of their avatars…well, at least in the case of Darren and Connor. Then, a bright blue light surrounded each individual player.

When the light faded, Darren looked again in the mirror to see his family's hazel eyes looking back at him. His hair was back to its usual short cut form and he shrunk back to his normal height. Connor reverted to his short messy hair and grew back to his height. Asuna…didn't change at all. Darren resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Now's not the time, he thought to himself.

There were good amounts of confusion as everyone had reverted back to their actual selves, some wondering who the other was, others complaining about them being the wrong gender. "Why would anyone do this!?" one shouted.

"Right now, you're probably wondering why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear do this? Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design." You wanted to play the part of a god, you sick monster, Darren thought, clenching his hand in rage. "As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck." The avatar slowly dissipated into a cloud of red smoke, leaving the players' sight.

Except for Darren's. The GM had appeared in front of him, standing only a few inches taller than he himself was. Around him, the world had seemed to temporarily slow down. "So, the Assassin has come."

Darren went to draw his sword, but couldn't feel the grip. The blade on his back was gone. "What do you want, Grand Master?" he growled.

"Grand Master?" Kayaba laughed. "You think I am one of those silly Templars." He drew in a breath before continuing, "I can understand your confusion of me seeming like the Grand Master, but I can assure that it is not I you seek. Oh, no. He _is_ here, just like he said he would be."

"And how can you be so sure?"

"I know the profile of every player here, even yours, Daisuke Hinotashi." Darren's eyes grew wide when he heard his name. "You see, I've had several conference calls with the one who claimed to be the Grand Master who said he could help me claim my vision of what I want here in this world." Kayaba turned to face Darren. "But, of course I turned him down, saying I didn't need his help to achieve my goal. I told him I could do it on my own, and I have. Now, it seems he is possibly here to take my position _and_ control of this world." Even if he couldn't see the man's eyes, he could still feel a strong glare from beneath the hood. "I cannot allow him to do so. This is my world, not the Templars', to rule."

"Are you saying you want to help me? After you decided to hold nearly ten thousand people hostage for your own entertainment?! Why should I?"

"Would you rather be released from the game or remain a prisoner in it your whole life?" Darren's face remained tense. "I have designed the game to be beaten, not to be an eternal prison. You know, as well as I, that the Templars would see to it that everyone in here is trapped and under their control. Me? I am no king dictating what my subjects can and cannot do. I let you do your own thing here in this world. The Templars would see that you would all corralled into one single farm to be treated like cattle. So, you know why you need my help. The question is…do you accept?"

Darren thought about this situation. He knew Kayaba was right about the Templars wanting control over all people, and taking Kayaba's position would be easy pickings. He really had no choice; he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He needed his now enemy's assistance to remove the enemy he had trained to kill all of his life. "They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend." He looked at Kayaba or at least the darkness in his hood. "The Templars have been my enemy all of my life. I have trained to kill them. While you want him dead for your reason, I want him dead for the real reason: to avert the enslavement of everyone. So…" His next words tasted bitter on his tongue. "I accept."

Kayaba swiped open his menu, pressing a few buttons to transfer items to Darren's **Item Storage**. "Now, see what I have given you. Check your **Skills **menu as well."

Darren opened his menu and scrolled to **Items**. In it he found:

_**Assassin's Explorer Outfit **_**x 1**

_**Hidden Blades **_**x 2**

_**Hidden Blades Recipe **_**x 1**

Under his skills, he found this:

_**Levantine Approach**_**\- User wields both Hidden Blade and One Handed Sword if he/she so chooses during battle. Cannot be used in Duels.**

Darren could feel the smile under the hood. "And now, you have the tools required to be a true Assassin. Of course, any and all Assassin techniques you've learned in the real world can also be used in Aincrad. And remember this: you are not the only Assassin in SAO. There are others like you; rely on their help. Now, go forth and free this world…if you can survive." Kayaba vanished and the world returned to normal speed and Darren felt his sword reappear on his back.

The crowd had become silent once again. A mirror dropped and shattered. A girl screamed. Panic had set in and everyone was rushing out. Darren grabbed Asuna and Connor and ran for the nearest exit. From there, Connor took over and led the two into a safer part of town, well away from the crowd. They all slumped over, panting. "So…now what?" Connor said in between breaths. "It's practically every man for himself! This isn't how it was supposed to be! Shit!"

Darren felt worried about the threat surrounding all of them. It seemed like Asuna had snapped out of her daze. She slumped to the ground, hands shaking. Darren knelt in front of her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Tears leaked from her eyes as she threw her arms around him, crying into his shoulder. "I-It can't be! I c-can't lose you two. You're my best friends! Y-You can't die…"

He tightly hugged her in return. "I don't intend on dying. We have to get out of here. A greater threat is at work." He looked at Connor. "I'm making sure you two leave with me!" He held out his hand to his friend, keeping one arm around Asuna. Connor smiled and gripped his friend's hand tightly. He gently brought Asuna out of their embrace. "You in, Asuna?" She wiped her eyes, a smile and look of determination now on her face. Her hand gripped the top of her friends'. "Now, let's get the hell out of here! Connor, lead the way!"


	3. Chapter 3

AN: With this chapter, I figured I'd try to add a custom intro of my own for my story. It will feature all of the characters I have in mind with the added characters from SAO. The song used will be _Database _from Log Horizon.

Chapter 3

**Intro:**

We hear the three keys typed, followed by a sound of activation. The keys typed **SAO**, which expand to **Sword Art Online** when the sound is heard. **An Assassin's Decree** is seen underneath the Sword Art logo.

**(Instrumental) **The login screen fades to show Darren, Asuna and Connor appear at the Town of Beginnings in a blue light, all with worried looks on their face. The sky is pink with the appearance of Kayaba in his GM form. He then appears in front of Darren. The screen switches from Kayaba to Darren, looking mad, but then he nods in agreement. Kayaba vanishes and all present in the main square fall through a wide pink digital hole.

**Counter-action rising  
Yeah, we are ready for the punch line**

Next scene shows Darren flipping in the black void and landing in a crouched stance, his Explorer robes now on and his Hidden Blades armed. He slowly stands and sees the faceless figure wearing the Templar Grand Master robes.

**There's no use with all your gimmicks  
SO CHECK THIS OUT!**

He clenches his fist, teeth grit in anger. He jumps up with his blade poised and ready. The figure fades and he instead plunges his blade into a Lizard Warrior.

**Login you damned ones; crush the ones that compromise  
The noise comes, we are ready to bow  
What about the antidote for the jammed and hypnotized?  
Rend the lie that covers, who's the real sucker now?**

When he stands back up, he finds himself surrounded by many more of them. His hood conceals his eyes, showing no emotion to his current situation. He feels a hand on both of his shoulders, Connor, now an Assassin, on his right, Asuna on his left. He smiles at them, all three now drawing their blades. Asuna is using her most powerful rapier, **Lambent Light**. Connor is wielding his katana, the **Honjo Masamune**. Darren draws his one handed sword, the **Wing of ****Altaïr**. They all activate a skill and charge into battle.

**Sakimidareta hana no you ni ayazaka na itami daki  
Tatazamu machi o nukete mayoi no serifu wa sute**

The Grand Master watches a city from the window in his office, an evil smile seen from the side shot of his hood. A group of Templars then rush the dungeon, striking down anything and anyone in their path. They come upon the trio, exhausted from the fight before. Then, Kirito jumps over the group and starts attacking the Templars to save his friends with his sword, **Elucidator**. Agil joins in, Klein alongside the other two. When the group is vanquished, Kirito looks back, flashing a smile and a thumbs up.

**Kaerenai koe yo hibike  
We say, "Whoa-oh-oh-oh!"**

**Database, Database  
Just living in the database (Whoa oh!)**

The shot changes to all of them standing back to back in a city as the camera spins to each one's face holding a look of determination. The scene quickly changes to a shot of Lisbeth, smiling and holding her mace outside of her shop. Then it switches to Silica, giggling as Pina licks her cheek.

**The wall of pure fiction's cracking in my head  
And the addiction of my world still spreads**

The scene shows Kayaba, as Heathcliff, standing back to back with the Grand Master, a smile on his face. The Grand Master's eyes are hidden; only his gray beard is shown upon his stoic face.

**In the Database, Database  
I'm struggling in the Database (Whoa oh!)**

Darren kills a Templar, his body dissolving into blue pixels. He falls to his knees, his eyes leaking tears as he slams his fist into the dirt. A hand appears in front of him.

**It doesn't even matter if there is no hope  
And the madness of the system grows**

He looks up to find the hand belongs to another hooded Assassin. The eyes are hidden, but an auburn ponytail is visible. He smiles and takes the hand, seeing his friends standing behind the stranger.

**Database, Database  
Just living in the database (Whoa oh!)**

The scene shows all at a pub, drinks held high as they cheer in celebration.

**Database, Database  
Just say, "Whoa-oh-oh-oh!"**

Darren turns to find Argo in a corner by the back door. His expression turns serious as he takes his last sip and follows her out, putting his hood over his head, his eyes vanishing into its shadow.

**(Final guitar riff)** The final scene shows the swords of Darren, Connor and an unknown rapier planted in the ground, overlooking a river shining with the setting sun.

**December 2, 2022**

Nearly a month had passed since the launch of SAO, and the start of the death game reality. Two thousand players have already perished. Darren and his friends had spent their time leveling up. Darren was even able to test out the ability of his Hidden Blades. When his friends spotted the weapons on his wrist, his only response was "Now is not the time. You shall see and all will be explained."

Little did he know that he would soon have some explaining to do.

When Darren woke up, he had a message from Connor in his **Inbox**. Apparently, a party had some information they wanted everyone to know. His heart rate increased; it may be one more step to getting out of SAO and back to the real world. He equipped all of his gear and made his way downstairs. But first, he needed to get Asuna.

He knocked on her door, praying she was awake. He had woken her once before and, needless to say, it wasn't pretty what had happened. Thankfully, the knob turned. The door opened to reveal Asuna in her starting outfit, but a burgundy cloak was draped over her shoulders. "What's the new get-up?" he teased.

"You're one to talk, Mr. Hood," she quipped back. He knew she was referring to the white hood he added to his starting outfit. "Yours serves a purpose, which I guessed would help me, too." She lifted the hood over her head, Darren following suit. Now their faces were hidden and their identities were concealed. The two made their way to the arena to meet up with Connor.

The amount present was a pretty good size. The three sat by each other, listening as a man with blue hair, a shade or two lighter than Connor's, stepped up on stage. "Now that we're all here, let's get this meeting started!" announced the man. Darren noticed a boy with black hair, maybe two years younger than he was, sit not too far away from him and his friends. He brought his attention back to the front.

"So anyway, I want to thank everyone for coming." He looked at everyone sitting in the stands. "Good to see you. My name is Diabel, and in this game, the job I rolled is knight!"

The crowd started to laugh at such a ridiculous statement. Even the Assassin silently laughed from behind folded hands. Connor joined in, laughing a little louder. Asuna made no reaction. "

"There's no job system in this game, man!" one attendee shouted.

"HEY! Do you all wanna hear this or not?" The laughs faded. Everyone was on edge for what he had to say. "Right. Here's the deal, people. Our party found the boss room at the top of the dungeon tower today." The crowd silently whispered in shock when the news hit their ears. "We need to defeat the boss and make it to Floor 2. The next step is to tell everyone waiting back in town that it _is _possible to beat this game! The fact is that is our duty as the most capable players here. Agreed?" Everyone looked a little uneasy, but nodded in agreement; they _had _to beat it.

Darren was amazed at the amount of applause the man was receiving. He did have true leadership potential. He even found himself clapping with the others. "Great. Now that's one more step closer to getting out of this place!" Darren silently declared.

"I've been itching to see what I can truly do in battle! Let's do this!" Connor shouted loudly. The crowd applauded, voicing their agreement.

Diabel held up a hand, quieting the crowd. "Glad to hear you're all with me on this. Now, let's figure out _how _we're going to beat the boss. First off, we'll team up into parties of six. A typical party doesn't stand a chance against a boss. We'll need a raid group, built of multiple parties. Understand?"

The parties were quickly being formed; no doubt by people that already knew each other. Darren sat back up, quickly sending a party invite to both Connor and Asuna. "Connor, you were in the beta," he told his friend as the invite was accepted. "How come we didn't do that when we first got here?"

"W-Well…" Another ping was heard, signaling Asuna's acceptance, "I kinda forgot about the whole party deal. I didn't find the people I was with in the beta, so I guess the thought didn't come to mind." Darren's face drooped into a look of disbelief that his friend was sometimes so idiotic.

"Hey." The three turned their heads to find the black haired boy. "D-Do…you have room for one more?" Darren smiled and nodded, sending him an invite. "T-Thanks, uh…Darren?" the boy said, peering at the acceptance screen.

"Correct…" Darren squinted to read the small text. "Kirito?"

"That's right. I couldn't find anyone else that wasn't full, and then I saw you three over here." He looked at the party screen, eyes locking on Asuna's name. "You were away from the crowd."

"That's the way we like it. We've never been one for crowds, tend to keep to ourselves," Connor said. Kirito nodded in understanding.

"All right!" All eyes were back on Diabel. "Looks like everyone is partied up. Now then-"

"HOLD UP A SEC!" a loud voice interjected. Asuna watched as a guy with prickly orange hair, akin to a cactus, jumped down the stand, several rows at a time and land next to Diabel. "My name's Kibaou, got that?!"

"And in enters the clown," Connor joked.

"Before we take on the boss, I wanna get something off my chest." The boys leaned forward, eager to hear what the walking cactus had to say. "We all know about the two thousand that already died, yeah? Well, some of you need to apologize to them right now!" He declared, pointing an accusing finger at the crowd. They all were wondering what the heck this guy was talking about.

"Kibaou, I think I know who you're referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right?" Diabel asked.

"Of course I mean them! The day this game started, the beta guys just up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners!" Kibaou went on about how the betas had snagged everything and took off, ignoring the players. "Hell, I bet there are some of them here! We should make them apologize and give up everything they own! How can the party trust them if they're holding out on the others?"

Connor's blood ran cold when Kibaou said that. _He_ was one of the betas currently being accused of ditching everyone and keeping his ass intact. But, he knew that he had been with Asuna and Darren the whole time. If he did any quests, they were right alongside him. So, yes, I did do easy quests, but it was for _their _benefit, he thought to himself, referring to his friends. He looked over at Kirito, an equally uneasy look in his eyes. "You're one, too, aren't ya?" Connor silently asked Kirito. The boy nodded, not sure what to do. Connor was at a loss for words when he saw Darren stand up.

Darren had enough. He stood and made his way down the steps. For once, Asuna showed emotion as her lips curled tight, refusing to blurt out to Darren to stop. She was worried he was going to get hurt. "Oh, look. One of them has come to confess," Kibaou chided. "Well, what's your name and what's your loot?"

What Darren did next surprised his party. He shoved Kibaou up against the wall, his **Hidden Blade **out and under the guy's chin. "W-What the hell?" he said in a quivering voice. "Who the hell are you?"

"Who I am is of no concern to you. Who are you to be bashing those who are fighting like the rest of us just to get out of here alive!?" Darren shouted, just barely loud enough for Kibaou to hear. Diabel made a move for his sword, but held back when Darren said his last line. "Beta tester or not, we are _all_ in hell together. If you're just peeved that a man or a woman is a level higher than you, then grow the fuck up!" He released Kibaou, retracting the blade.

"Can I add something?" asked a deep voice.

Darren turned around to find a large black guy towering over him. He wore a black sleeveless shirt and pants with a chest plate on his front and an ax strapped to his back. He didn't feel intimidated, though; he knew that whatever he would say was directed at Kibaou.

"My name's Agil. Kibaou, right?" The cactus head nodded, still shaking from his encounter with Darren. "I wanna make sure we're on the same page: you say it's the beta tester's faults for the rookie's deaths because they didn't help them. _And _you wanted them to apologize and give up their winnings. Did I miss anything?" Kibaou shook his head. Agil reached into his pouch, extracting a small leather book. "The shops still sell these items for free. It's a guide book. You got one, right?"

"Sure I got one. What about it?"

"You know who's still handing these out? The ex-beta testers." Everyone was shocked; the man had punched a hole in Kibaou's logic. "Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information. Regardless, many still died, but I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here 'cause I wanna learn from their deaths. I'm here because I wanna know how to defeat the boss."

Connor and Kirito breathed a visible sigh of relief. Kibaou mumbled something and flopped back in his seat. Darren and Agil made their ways back to the stands. "Thanks for backing me up," Darren said from under his hood.

"Few more seconds and I'm sure he'd have died," Agil replied.

"By my hand? No; it'd just be a waste. He's not worth it." He looked back at the orange porcupine. "Though maybe smacking him around a bit could teach him some manners." He made his way back to his seat as Agil smiled at the hooded stranger.

Diabel was thankful the tension had defused. "Okay, now let's get back to the meeting." He pulled out his guidebook. "According to the guidebook, the boss is…"

Asuna was thankful that nothing had happened to Darren, but she couldn't believe how reckless he was up there. "Are you crazy?" she silently shouted. Darren looked over. "You're an idiot, picking a fight like that, and with your dagger no less!"

"And if I didn't stop him, something worse could've come out of it. All it takes is the thought of a single individual to ignite a riot. That's the last thing we needed, especially for these two," he said, referring to Connor and Kirito.

Kirito was shocked that Darren found him out. "But, I never said I was a beta tester!"

Darren smiled. "Didn't have to. Your eyes said it all."

"…when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword-like weapon called a **Talwar**. His attack patterns changes, too" Diabel closed his book and looked at everyone. "That's it for the briefing. As for loot distribution, money will be divided equally among everyone. XP goes to the party that defeats the boss, and whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Got it?" All present nodded. "Then we'll meet at ten in the morning. Meeting adjourned!" Everyone stood and made their way out.

Asuna, Darren and Connor also stood to leave. As their way out, Darren turned back to Kirito. "We'll catch ya later tonight at the rallying party." Kirito nodded in reply. He made his way back to his friends and went back to the house to rest up.

* * *

A small, yet equally jovial, party was held later that night in a small square with a fountain at its center. Darren raised his glass in cheers with those present, then made his way back into a smaller part away from the crowd with Connor and Asuna. She was munching on a loaf of bread, her friends joining her. Darren sipped from his glass, trying to break up the toughness of the crust in his mouth.

"Those are pretty good." Connor and Darren looked up to see Kirito standing there. "Mind if I sit?" he asked Asuna. She gave no reply, which Kirito took as a sign to sit down. She scooted over a little. "What?"

"Don't worry." Darren took a sip from his glass. "She always like that around strangers. Took some getting used to back IRL."

Kirito smiled as he took out his own loaf of bread. "Well, it's nice to see there's a face under that hood."

"What!?" Darren realized he forgot to put his hood back up. "Yeah. Meet the real me," he said, raising his glass in introduction. "This yahoo is Connor." His friend also raised a glass. "I guess you know who that is," he finished, referring to Asuna.

They all munched on their bread, admiring that it wasn't much, but the bread was still somewhat good. "So…" Asuna spoke up. "You think these are good?"

"Uh huh," Kirito replied. "When I came to this town, I ended up eating at least one a day. But, I have a trick to make it taste better."

"How can you flavor up hard tack?" Connor quipped.

Kirito removed a small clay jar from his back pouch, setting it on the wall. "You two can help yourselves to some, too." The trio all set on a finger on the mouth of the jar, their fingers glowing blue. Kirito followed suit, smearing the substance on his bread.

"Is this…cream?" Asuna asked. Kirito nodded his answer. Darren and Connor did the same, finding the smooth buttery substance now on their bread. Darren bit into his meal, relishing in the sweet taste of butter that touched his taste buds. Asuna looked at her friends enjoying their bread. She took one bite into the cream covered bread and gobbled it up in a matter of seconds.

"Damn, that was fast," Connor said to his friend. She shuddered slightly in delight, keeping her face firm and unchanging. Unlike Darren, her hood was still up, revealing only her nose and mouth.

"I got it from '**The Heifer Strikes Back**' quest in the village before this place," Kirito told the group. "I could show you and your friends how to get it."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Asuna declined. "I didn't come to this town to eat good food." Darren and Connor looked confused by the tone of her voice.

"Okay…so why are you here?"

"I'm with these two," she started, referring to her friends nearby, "and…I don't wanna lose sight of who I am. I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away." Darren was surprised to hear this coming from her, but people change when put through hell. "I'd rather stay the way I am 'til the last moment…even if a monster beats me and I die." She clenched her hands together, eyes locked on to them. "I won't lose to this game or this world, no matter what."

"Hear, hear," Connor added, raising his glass. He and Darren downed the last of their drink through looped arms as comrades.

Darren walked over to Kirito and Asuna. "I'd say it's time to head back, you two. We'll need all of the rest we can get." He turned to his friend. "And don't you worry." She looked up at him. "I'm going to make sure that you, Connor and I leave here alive. I made that promise, and I _never _go back on them." He grinned sheepishly when realizing something. "Although, I'm not sure if I'll be strong enough to tackle most of the bosses alone, so we'll definitely need Connor and Kirito's help."

"Way to ruin the mood, buzz kill," Connor teased from the sidelines.

"Hey, my promise was to make sure you two stayed alive. I never said anything about tackling the bosses alone floor by floor." He looked at the night sky. "You'd have to be a mad man to want, let alone think, of doing such a thing." The group stood and made their way back to their respective places.

Darren looked out of the window in his room, the lights still shining the streets of the Town of Beginnings. He had ditched his armor and was left only in his night clothes: a navy blue sleeveless shirt with white shorts. The only thing that never left his body was one **Hidden Blade** on his right arm.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," he told the person.

It was Asuna, dressed in her night clothes consisting of a pink spaghetti strap top and short white shorts. "Can't sleep either, huh?" she said.

"On the contrary," he replied. "I wanted one last look at the town before we leave it tomorrow."

She stood next to him by the window. "How are you sure we're even gonna beat the boss?"

"I have plenty of faith in Diabel and his abilities as a leader. Despite a few knobheads in the group," he said, referring to Kibaou, "we've got a pretty solid group all around." He absentmindedly flicked his blade back and forth.

Asuna took notice of the weapon still on his person. "I still haven't seen a weapon quite like that, and curiosity is eating away at me as to how you got that."

"Like I told you two: I'll tell you in due time. But, from what I can see, it's not anytime in the near future." He looked at her, seeing the curiosity burning in her eyes. He figured he'd drop a hint. "Let's just say I'm more than meets the eye, and there's another enemy that I have a personal vendetta against here. That reminds me." He turned to her, arms folded. "What was the deal at the party tonight?"

She turned back to the Asuna he knew. "People change, and let's just say this game has done just that," she said to him, rubbing her arm. "I've gotta grow up and think like an adult to get out of here."

Darren laid a hand on her shoulder. "That doesn't mean you have to give up who you are. You'll always be the somewhat closeted, yet still fun, playful, caring girl I've grown to be close to." She closed the distance between them in a tight hug. Darren returned the embrace, albeit blushing slightly. "W-Well, I think you should go back and sleep. Good night."

"Good night, Darren," she said, closing his door.

* * *

Darren felt like a soldier marching towards a battlefield for war as he and the raid group made their way to the boss room. There was a sinking feeling in his gut that told him, despite having a strong group, someone will die today in this battle. He kept glancing nervously back at Asuna, who was listening to Kirito explain the plan he has for the party. Darren may have been the leader, but he was very inexperienced in drawing up or thinking of a battle plan. He already explained that to Kirito and Connor; Asuna took a while because he wouldn't her room. His palms were feeling clammy the closer they got to the room.

And so, the time had arrived. They gathered outside of the giant wooden double doors. Diabel planted the tip of his blade into the ground. "Listen up! I've only one thing to say: let's win! C'mon!"

Riveting, Darren thought as the blue haired leader opened the door. He drew his sword, put his hood on and kept his **Hidden Blade****s** on standby. Connor stood poised, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Asuna drew her rapier with a flourish. Kirito had his sword in his sheath, not one for showing off before a fight.

The room had many pillars flanking each wall all the way down the other side of the room. A giant mosaic floor looked like a red carpet leading to the throne. **Illfang** only looked a large shadowy blob from their distance, only his red eyes gleaming in the darkness. The room illuminated with colors lining the walls like stain glass as the boss leaped to the center of the room, ax drawn and shield at the ready.

"Jesus. Looks like a giant kangaroo," Connor said, crouching into an attack stance.

The boss' four health bars appeared, his three **Sentinels **appearing next to their master. All charged at the intruders in their space.

"COMMENCE ATTACK!" Diabel ordered. Everyone charged, each attacking their own respective enemy.

In their party, Darren had Asuna paired off with Kirito while he stayed with Connor. The **Sentinels **proved to be tricky and slick monsters, being slightly faster than the duo. "Switch!" Darren called. He parried the creature's attack, leaving him wide open to Connor's attack. He activated his **Sword Skill **and slashed the creature three times, bringing its health down to the red for another party to take it down.

"Switch!" Darren heard Kirito call out. He looked over at his friend wield her rapier and quickly stab the monster, looking like needle points with her amazing speed.

He quickly brought his attention to the matter at hand, striking the armored monster and quickly letting Connor get a few hacks in before he could take it down. "Switch!" Connor called. He sheathed his sword and ran at the creature. He used one of his **Hidden Blades **to parry its attack, leaving an opening he took. He jumped, flicking out the blade of the other one, activating his skill and sunk the blade into the gap between the creature's helmet and shoulder plates. The body exploded in blue pixels, bringing a smile to the Assassin's face.

**Illfang **threw away his axe and shield, getting ready to draw his next weapon. "Stay back! He's mine!" Diabel shouted, charging the boss.

What? But the plan was for everyone to surround it, Kirito thought. He watched as the boss drew a sword that didn't match the description of a **Talwar**. "That's a **Nodachi**!" he quietly shouted. "Wait, stop! It's no good! Get out of there!

It was too late; Diabel had already started his charge. **Illfang **sprang high into the air, bouncing off two pillars and landing two lethal hits on the knight. "NO!" many of the fighters shouted. The beast leaned in close and growled loudly, intimidating the attackers.

Darren watched as Kirito rushed over, potion in hand, to save Diabel. He saw the leader deny the potion and whisper something incoherent to Kirito. With a final look of determination to Kirito, Diabel's body vanished into blue pixels. He felt his world grind to a halt; Darren had witnessed his first death in SAO. He had already seen his mom pass away before, but she went quietly; Diabel was struck down. A fire burned inside his gut, spurring revenge throughout his body.

Kirito slowly stood, his party joining him by his sides. "I'll go, too," Asuna said.

"We've got your back!" Connor shouted.

"So, what's your plan, leader?" Darren asked.

"Follow me." The group charged at the giant kangaroo-like creature. The boss fired up a **Sword Skill** aimed at the group. He swung, but was blocked by Kirito's parry. Asuna switched in, firing up her skill, poised to strike. **Illfang's **eyes glowed red as he readied a second swing. The sword tore through Asuna's cloak, tearing it to shreds.

"ASUNA!" her friends cried. Darren felt his heart stop, thinking he just broke his promise to protect Asuna. He looked again, finding his friend alive, looking just as she was when the game first started, no hood covering her face. Her rapier punched a hole into the monster's chest, blowing it away from her.

Kirito, unlike his friends, was at a loss for words, captivated in her beauty. For a moment, it almost seemed like there was no battle going on. All he could see was her. He quickly snapped out of his trance. Now's not the greatest time, he mentally scolded. "He's coming back!" He deflected another strike, allowing Darren and Connor to perform an **X Slash **combo, knocking its health down even further. Kirito managed to block another slash, but didn't count on the boss to make a second attack. The attack was going for Asuna, but Darren jumped in and took the full impact of the hit, knocking him into her and sprawling them onto the floor.

Connor ran over, seeing a large digitized slash across his friend's chest, his health down in the red. "I know it doesn't actually hurt, but I just had the wind knocked out of mind. So, ow!" he said, drawing out the word. Asuna looked in fear as **Illfang **raised his sword high. She raised her rapier in hopes of defending herself and the downed Darren.

A battle cry came from behind her, deflecting the attack. There stood Agil, who had just saved their lives. "We can hold this bastard off long enough until you get your health up!" he told the others.

"Thanks," Darren said, managing a weak smile. The others attacked the boss while he chugged a potion, bringing his health back up to green. "Okay. We gotta get back in and finish the job."

"There's a little bit of health left, but enough for each of us to get at least one more strike in," Connor said, drawing his katana.

"Here's what we'll do: same plan with the **Sentinels**. Pair up and switch until his health is down to the last red. Kirito, you feel good about taking the last strike?"

The boy smiled in reply. "Course I am!"

Darren stood up. "Connor, you know what to do!"

"You know it!"

**Illfang **knocked back all of the fighters. Kirito sprang into action, taking another hit off of the boss. "C'mon, Asuna! Darren says we need to get one last attack!"

"Got it!" she shouted back.

Darren ran up and blocked the **Nodachi **with his dagger, surprisingly strong for a small weapon. It opened an opportunity for him and Connor to use another **X Slash **combo. Kirito blocked another attack which allowed Asuna to use a **Multi-Stab**. The boys threw open his sword strike to give Kirito the last strike, a slash that went from the boss' side all the way up to his head. He exploded into pixels; **Illfang **was defeated.

Everyone cheered as a large **Congratulations **appeared. The **Col **screens appeared in front of everyone, all earning a large sum of money from the victory. The color faded from the room as it returned to its inactive state. Kirito's screen pinged with the addition of **XP **as did Darren's and the others. Another item appeared in his **Items **slot: **Coat of Midnight**.

"Way to go, Kirito," he heard the boys in his party tell him.

"Nice job," Asuna told him.

"That was some fine swordsmanship. Not just you," Agil said, looking at the group, "but all of you were amazing. I've never seen such teamwork."

"Couldn't have done it without our leader," Asuna said, directing the compliment at Darren.

"No, stop. I only rallied you," he replied, blushing and rubbing the back of his head. "If anything, Kirito deserves the credit for inspiring me to do so." Now it was Kirito's turn to blush in humility. Everyone congratulated his new friend for doing an amazing job on beating the boss.

The celebration, however, was short lived. "STOP CHEERING" Kibaou shouted. All went silent and turned the attention to him. "Why'd you do it? Why'd you let Diabel die!?"

"Let him die?" Kirito parroted.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Connor demanded.

"Shut up, you! Fess up; you knew the technique the boss was gonna use. You could have told us and Diabel wouldn't have died!"

Thoughts about Kirito were rapidly changing, not many seeing him as a hero anymore. "I know why!" one in the crowd shouted. "He used to be a beta tester. He knew the boss' attack patterns, but kept it from us." Not a word from Darren's party was said, but Darren grew dangerously close to tearing someone a new one. "And I bet he's not the only one, either! Show yourselves!"

Darren was not hearing it as he made his forward once again, but a hand grabbing his stopped him in his tracks. Asuna stood there, shaking her head with fear in her eyes. "Don't," she whispered. Seeing Asuna worry about him made Darren feel bad about himself. He stood down, hand tightly on to Asuna's to avoid a confrontation.

A low laugh came from Kirito that slowly increased in volume. "So, you all think I used to be a beta tester, huh?" He stood and continued to speak. "It's not cool to put me in the same class as those noobs.

"What'd you say!?" Kibaou demanded.

"Also, hurtful," Connor quietly added.

"Most of the original one thousand who scored a slot were rookies, so green they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you all were better than they were." Kirito made his way through the crowd and stopped a few feet shy of Kibaou. "I'm nothing like those guys. During the beta, I made it to floors higher than any of the other players had. I fought more bosses with way stronger **Stats** and **Sword Skills**. And I know even more than you might think, or even imagine."

Kibaou was stunned. "If that's the case…you're worse than a beta tester. You're a god damned cheater!" he shouted.

The crowd voiced their displeasure at the recent statement. "A beta tester _and _a cheater!? You're a beater! That's what you are!" Everyone then agreed on the term, save for Asuna, Darren, Connor and Agil.

"A beater…Yeah, I like the sound of that." The group was in shock as Kirito accepted his title. He went through his menu, equipping the **Coat of Midnight**. He turned for one last look of shock, but he instead was shocked seeing Darren march towards the accuser.

Darren was through with the crap he was hearing. He yanked his hand out of Asuna's and made his way towards Kibaou once again. "You again?" Kibaou asked. "You a beater like that guy?"

He wound back and socked the guy hard to the floor. Everyone was in so much shock that they didn't know how to respond. None did a thing as Darren pulled him up by the front of his collar, once again showing him his dagger. "Again with the fact that you're bitching about a player being better than you! I'm sick of hearing nothing but shit coming from your trap. Diabel's death had nothing to do with my friend." Kibaou's eyes shook with fear as Darren brought his face closer, the point of the dagger dangerously close to Kibaou's cheek. "He was after the last attack bonus. If you were in his shoes, wouldn't you want that, too? To gain another level? I'm sure even Kirito wasn't aware of that last attack pattern, let alone Diabel! I saw both in shock. So who are you to be casting stones! Huh!?"

No words; only small sounds of fear escaped Kibaou's lips. "Y-You're a monster. W-Who are y-you?" he managed to stutter out.

Darren retracted his blade and said, "Call me 'Assassin.' And don't forget the name!" He let Kibaou fall to the floor and walked back to his group, who had followed Kirito to the room's exit.

Kirito was stopped halfway up the stairs, Asuna and Connor a few steps below. Darren approached the group, trying to hone in on the conversation. "…look right about here, you'll see other HP gauges with the names of those in your party." He also took a look and saw Kirito, Connor and Asuna all there with their health at a good level.

Asuna's steel face softened and she started to giggle. "I'm so dumb! It was there the whole time and I never knew," she said.

Kirito noticed Darren's approach and decided to speak. "You three are very good. You can get stronger. But if there's a day someone invites you to a guild, don't hesitate to accept. There are limits to what a soloist like me can do, but there is still strength in numbers." He turned to Darren. "I thank you for standing up for me and your friend back there."

"It's nothing. Consider it a life debt," he kidded.

"But, I'm afraid I can't be a part of your group anymore. I would like to leave and go on my own." Darren was shocked, but decided to let Kirito speak. "You three are tight knit. A stranger in your group would only cause problems and maybe tensions. I can't risk that." Darren didn't buy his excuse, but he remembered that he himself had a personal errand to handle in this game. Kirito may be strong, but he'd probably be reckless as an Assassin. He swiped open his menu and released Kirito from the party. "Best of luck to you all." With that, he walked through the door of the dungeon and vanished to the next floor.

"So, Assassin, huh?" Connor asked, arms folded. "I think it might have something to do with those daggers of yours."

Darren sighed. He scrolled to the **Items **slot on his menu and equipped his **Explorer Outfit**. His hood remained white, but his clothes changed to a white upper body robe that had a few traces of black added in. In addition to his chest and back plates for his armor, he had leather gauntlets on his shoulders and forearms, adding extra protection. There was also a loop on the back strap to add in a **Blowgun** on the opposite shoulder from where his sword rested.

"Amazing!" Connor said, admiring the look.

"The look of it is something. It looks like you can blend in anywhere," Asuna added in, looking him up and down.

Darren remembered talking with Asuna last night. "Asuna, remember how I told you and Connor about how it would be a long time before you find out the secret of my blades? And how there's more to me than what you see?" She slowly nodded in reply. "Well…looks like it's that time."

**AN: I can't believe how many faves and followings I'm getting with this story. But honestly, I'd love some reviews, just to give me an idea as to where I stand in this story. Let me know what you thought about the anime intro that I've created for the story. If you're wondering what Darren's new outfit looks like, just search for "AC Black Flag Explorer's Outfit." It's a good looking outfit which I figured would suit him best. Also, I hate to leave the chapter on a cliffhanger, but I _do _have plans to expand on it in the next chapter. I hope to see you all in Chapter 4!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**May 12, 2023**

Darren was leaning against a wall, his hood over his eyes. The concealment allowed him to survey the area without many people wondering who or what he was looking for. But, ever since the 2nd floor, he gained notoriety as his title of "Assassin." Some knew who he was; others saw him as another guy in a hood. So far, none of them were Templars, and that was something he was thankful for. But, here on Floor 29, no one seemed to pay him any mind, another thing he was thankful for.

Asuna and Connor had also learned about their friend being an Assassin, but they received the explanation first hand when they made their way to the 2nd floor.

_The three were tired from the fight against __**Illfang **__and wished to find a place to rest. But, at the same time, he wished to give his friends the explanation they deserved. So, first stop was a restaurant to eat and relax for the time being._

_Their NPC waitress granted Darren's request of a corner booth away from prying eyes. Their corner was low lit, only a candle on the table providing light. No one said a word for about ten minutes. Darren was nervous; he felt stupid for exposing himself so carelessly. "So, what does this mean, being an Assassin?" Connor asked, leaning forward. The candle light showed the concerned creases on his face. _

_Darren took a sip of the drink placed in front of him. Once the waitress was well out of sight, he spoke up. "Ever heard of the Knights Templar?" Asuna and Connor nodded in reply, remembering the name from history class. "The group, like mine, was formed back way long ago."_

"_How long ago are we talking?" Connor asked._

"_The dawn of time." His friends' expressions were priceless; he expected as much. "Surprised me too, when I found out. But, the first recorded Templars were from several centuries ago, around the end of the twelfth century. That's beside the point. Anyways, they're a group that was once a military order, earning their rank of 'knight.' They were known for many things, including the Second Crusade. They had their hands in the Catholic Church's pockets. This gave them more power and granted expansion to carry out their quests for artifacts known as the 'Pieces of Eden.'"_

"_Eden? As in the Garden of Eden?" Asuna inquired._

"_The very same. Adam and Eve were believed to be the first Assassins. They were part of a fusion experiment formed from gods with powers beyond one's imagination."_

"_That last line sounds like something from a fairy tale," Connor joked._

_Darren smiled and took a drink from his mug. "I thought the same thing," he continued, pointing a knowing finger at Connor, "but, it's anything but one. These Pieces of Eden are believed to be part of the 'forbidden fruit' Adam and Eve stole, among many other things throughout history. These were created to control the minds of mankind, making us slaves to the gods. When the Templars found out about this later as the world changed, they sought out for these pieces, thinking they could use them for the same reason. They cover it up as peace and order for the betterment of humanity."_

"_But the Assassins knew better than to believe their words?" Asuna asked, looking up from her glass._

"_Very observant, as always."_

"_Shit, you could make us both Assassins. We're both observant people, right?"_

"_Believe me when I say that being observant is just one element of being one of us." He took another drink, relishing in the taste of the brew. "But, yes. Their words are empty ones. They want to keep mankind their slaves just like the gods before us. We disagree; that's not how man should be. Humans are allowed to go about their daily lives, making whatever choices they so choose. The Templars would like to see everyone brought together under their thumb, like cattle lead to slaughter." He sat back and allowed his friends to soak in the story he told them. "And now they've made their way into this game; God knows it's almost like having a Piece. And it's my job to stop them from keeping us here."_

_Connor's brow furrowed as he continued to absorb his words. "So, what about Kayaba? D-Does that make him a Templar?"_

"_By definition, yes. But, I have a feeling that he is not one by oath; he would've said so in the square. No, I have a feeling the real Templars are still out there. They may not show their faces 'til later." The only thing that kept eating at the back of his mind was how he talked with Kayaba before the game started._

_Their food finally arrived, cutting the conversation for a while. Asuna looked across the table at her hooded friend. But still, she never received her answer as to how he obtained those weapons and the outfit. "So…" Both heads popped up. "Just how did you get those daggers?"_

_Darren's heart started to race. He knew that _this _question would come eventually, but not until later. He inhaled slowly, attempting to calm his heart before continuing. "Promise me one thing, both of you." They nodded in reply. "Please…don't get angry. How I obtained them…was because…of K-Kayaba."_

"_WHAT!" his friends shouted._

_He visibly winced at their outburst. The looks in their eyes showed betrayal, and they had all the right to be. Now they think I'm an agent working for him, he thought._

"_B-But…how?" Connor stuttered. "Y-You're not working for him…are you?" _

_Darren did not answer right away. He was trying to think of how to word his reply. "No…you're not," Asuna whispered in a sad tone. _

"_N-NO! I swear!" Their faces demanded an explanation. "I wouldn't work for this man. As it turns out, he wants the Templars gone just as much as I do." Their expressions did not change. "In the square, after his speech, he came to me, speaking of how he had several calls with the Grand Master, the leader of the Templars. He was told they could help him achieve his goal of this," he continued, motioning to the world with his hand. "But, he denied their help. It did not stop them from making their way into the game, which he really should've seen coming." He was relieved to see his friends look less pissed at him. "He told me this game _is _meant to be cleared and defeated. The Templars would keep us in this game, truly enslaved, and they wouldn't need a Piece to do so. So, he wanted me to get rid of any and all Templar influence, as is my Assassin duty, and in exchange, he'd give me…these." He ended with motioning to his outfit and weapons. "It may sound like that I _am_ working for him, but I'm doing anything but. He merely provided me with the tools I needed to do my job." _

_Asuna still couldn't believe the story she heard. It sounded too good to be true, and she was thankful her friend wasn't working for the man who trapped them here. Connor leaned his head against his folded hands, taking in everything. Needless to say, the two were still shocked about everything that had been dropped on them, and now they realize there is a bigger threat._

_But the question remained: would they do anything?_

_Darren felt Asuna place her hand on his, gently squeezing. He looked up and saw her understanding smile in the candle light. He returned the squeeze, smiling in relief that his friends had not abandoned him. What was said next surprised him._

"_If that's the case, then where do I sign?" Connor spoke up. Darren looked over in shock. "I mean, the Templars want to keep us here forever. And I don't know about you two, but I'd really rather not stick around for too long. So if they're the problem, I wanna be part of the solution!" _

_He wasn't sure how to respond. Darren expected Connor to snap at him, but to want to be an Assassin? "I-I don't know." Connor looked at him, wondering why he received that answer. "I-I mean, the role of training is a Mentor, a higher ranked Assassin. I'm only still in training, granted halfway through the ranks, but I still have a ways to go!"_

"_C'mon, now," Connor said, slapping his friend on the back. "That doesn't sound like the guy I know IRL. He'd still give it a shot, no matter where he stood. I know you've got it in you. If I'm going out, I'm going out trying to save us!"_

_Darren bit his lip in thought. Would I be able to train him? There is still so much I have to learn. But, I guess through teaching one I can learn more. He turned to his friend and nodded his reply. Connor smiled widely. "What about you?" he asked, looking at Asuna._

"_I…I'm not sure," she said to them. "I'd love to join the fight, but at the same time, I feel that it's more of the game to think about more than it is to think about the Templars." Darren's face fell a little, even though he understood. "Don't get me wrong, though. I _will _help you both in any way I can!"_

_Darren smiled at his best friends. He raised his glass, inviting them to do the same. The three toasted, drinking to their unity._

It's times like that I'm thankful to have only a small handful of true friends instead of a lot of regular ones, Darren thought. He pushed off of the wall and ran forward to begin his free run along the rooftops. He felt so alive any time he would do this. It was freedom that not many got to experience growing up, and it was one thing he was most thankful for. He stopped just inside the town border. The view overlooked the fields, the orange sunset flowing through the waves of the grass. The breeze teased his hood, bringing a smile to his face.

He heard the sound of boots on the clay tiles approach from his right. There stood Connor, a navy blue hood pulled over his head. He made his own Assassin's outfit, looking more like one Assassin Darren read about, Arno Dorian. The color matched, but the style was more rugged looking. As for the **Hidden Blades**, he found a blacksmith who was willing to make them, but not until he gave him the ingredients needed. Needless to say, trying to obtain the necessary ores was not anything but easy. He made sure he had a good surplus for future needs. "There's going to be more of us," he remembered telling himself. The two agreed on meeting up before the sun went down to continue more training. "So, what's the next step?" Connor asked.

"You know the Creed, you already know how to use a sword. You're slowly gaining more experience with your dagger. I think it's time I taught you about stalking in the wild," Darren replied, hands on his waist. The two found a cart of hay and did a **Leap of Faith **one by one before running for the woods.

They stopped just inside the woods. "Here's what we're gonna do. Let's do a bit of hunting." Connor looked anxious. "First, find a bush and crouch. Your **Hiding Skill **is already higher than most if not all animals in the woods, so you should blend right in." The two took off, crouching in their respective spots. "When your target is within reach, strike!" he whispered.

The wait for an animal to approach was quite a long one. It's no different than actual hunting, Connor thought. His ears perked up when a twig snapped nearby. "Get ready," he heard Darren whisper from behind him. His dagger was out and at the ready. But, what he saw wasn't an animal. It was a person, a person who looked just like they did. "Darren, do you see this?"

"I do. I find it hard to believe, but I see it." Darren stood from his bush and quietly stalked through the brush. "Wait here. Don't move unless I'm attacked."

"Are you crazy!?" Connor quietly shouted. "What if it's a PK'er?" Player Killing was turning into a problem, even here on this floor. People had to be alert everywhere.

Darren slowly made his way through the bushes. He stopped just within ten feet of the person. "Who are you?" he whispered to himself. He froze when the person turned and looked right in the direction of where he was hiding. Oh, hell. Don't mind me, he thought. The person turned back and continued to walk, so he continued his advance.

The person stopped once again, not too much farther from where their first stop was. "You might as well come out from the bush. I know you're there," stated the person. From the voice, Darren found out it was a girl. His cover was blown, so he slowly stood from his hiding spot. "Well, well, well. If it ain't the Assassin. What luck to find myself his next target," she said in a joking tone.

"Well, if you really knew me, you'd know I'm not a Player Killer. If anything, you're a person of interest," he said to her in reply.

"Is that what you told your friend back there?"

How the hell did she figure that out? Darren thought in shock. "Connor, the jig is up!" he shouted. "Get over here, now!"

"How do you know if we can trust her?" Connor shouted back.

"Just get your ass over here!" The navy blue Assassin jogged up to his friend. "And I don't, but I sense her **Detection Skill **is very high up." He looked at the female Assassin wannabe. "Kind of surprising to find this high up in the floors."

"You'd be surprised what I'm capable of." Her robes were styled after Shao Jun, one of the first female Assassins in the Order, but the main colors were gray and lighter details sewn in with the edges colored a dark blue. She drew her sword, a rapier just like Asuna's. But, this sword was a little more different. It looked like a custom make from a blacksmith. The blade was blood red with a blue hilt. "But, I'd like to see what _you _are capable of." She leveled her sword and sent a **First Strike** duel request.

Darren accepted and drew his sword. The timer appeared, sixty seconds and counting. She's dressed like an Assassin and has a high level of **Detection**. I wonder if she herself is one, Darren thought.

The girl studied her opponent from under her hood. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that his in-game notoriety pertains to real life, she thought. If so, then I may need his help just like he'll need mine.

The timer counted down the final five seconds. Once the timer hit zero, his opponent struck first and fast. Darren was barely able to block her attack. She seems on par with Asuna. He decided to make his move. He swung for her right shoulder, but was blocked by the blood red blade. She pushed his sword in a spin move and attempted to get a hit on his face. He quickly ducked and leaped back. His sword slashed up, but was blocked once again.

Maybe I'm going about this wrong, he thought. He sheathed his sword and instead brought out his daggers. Her face looked uneasy despite her eyes being invisible. "My sword isn't fast enough for this situation. That rapier would only block the heavier weapon every time," Darren stated. He sprinted forward and slashed with his right blade. His opponent barely blocked the attack. "And now you see why." He struck with his left blade to which she quickly ducked and stabbed at him. He leaned right, narrowly avoiding the tip of the blade. There he found an opening. He swatted the rapier with his left blade and cut her upper arm with his right.

His opponent quietly cursed as she sheathed her weapon. "I guess the Assassin _does _live up to his name," she said to Darren, "but I have to wonder: are _they _here?"

Connor's ears perked up. "_They_? As in the Templars?"

She looked over at the novice. "You know of them?"

"Sort of. It's all because of Darren here," he told her, slapping his friend on the shoulder.

Her head snapped back and forth between the two. Her gaze rested on Darren. "So…it is true."

He nodded in reply. "But if you know of them, then you, yourself, may be an Assassin, too. But," he said, crossing his arms, "how do I know that you're not parading about as one?" He decided to test her by reciting the tenets of the Creed. "Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent."

Her reply was spot on. "Hide in plain sight."

Darren's expression didn't change, despite being relieved that she truly was an Assassin. "Never compromise the Brotherhood." His arms fell to his sides. "So, consider this a surprise finding another Assassin here in the game. Well, either we can go about this one of two ways." He removed his hood, revealing his face to his fellow Assassin "Consider this my gesture of trust. I revealed my face, something I haven't done since the 1st floor. You can either return the favor and join us in a united cause against the Templars, or you can take your leave and do what you want with the info you now have. You have my face, my name and now my fighting style. That kind of info might be a gold mine to the right info broker or any player."

Nothing was said by anyone present. Connor stood back, feeling the tension in the air between the two more experienced Assassins. The female Assassin decided to surprise Connor. Her hands moved to her hood and gently pulled back. The shadow faded, revealing bright blue eyes and her full head of auburn hair that was as long as Asuna's, but kept in a simple ponytail. "The name's Akiko. Nice to meet you both." She walked forward and stopped just a couple inches shy of Darren. "Let's see if the Assassin can keep up with yours truly." She turned back and made her way back to the edge of the woods.

What she didn't know was that when she turned her back, Darren's face burned bright red. He wasn't sure why, but he felt something inside him that caused him to blush as such. Connor stood next to him and let out a low whistle. "Damn. What a woman, am I right?" he said, referring to his Darren's fiery face. "C'mon. Let's catch up with her before she gets too far away." Connor took off, Darren following, albeit slower than his friend.

**September 15, 2023**

Darren yawned as the sun cast a shadow on his perch overlooking the town square. He, Connor and Akiko had made a plan to go out on their own patrols and maintain eyes on any sign of the Templars and/or trouble makers. So far, neither had showed up. "You'd figure they would be making themselves aware by now," he said to himself. He crouched and made a leap to the roof across the street.

When Kayaba told him that all Assassin abilities he learned IRL could be used in the game, he wasn't lying; he found out three days ago while on a quest. Eagle Sense, an ability that most, if not all, Assassins learn about in their life gives them an almost eagle eye view of a playing field. So, as Darren activated his, every player present had no aura surrounding them, identifying them as innocents. Any allies or friends showed as blue; guilds were normally seen with the same color. The only colors he hasn't seen yet is red, enemies, or gold, which usually means a target of interest. He figured Templars and any players marked as orange would be seen as such. But, the rule is no orange cursors are allowed into a safe zone, normally the central town.

"Nothing here. Might as well continue to patrol the area."

Darren really wished he didn't tell Connor and Akiko to go out on their own patrol. His reasoning was they could cover more ground, but at the expense of no interaction with each other. Might as well get a ground view, he thought. The controlled descent was one thing Darren disliked as it always put a lot of stress on his fingers and joints when he caught the edge of a window pane or the pole across the street. In SAO, he couldn't feel a thing; it quickly became a thing he didn't mind. He landed in a dark side alley and made his way back to the main marketplace to blend in with the populace.

What he didn't know was Connor was already in a crowd in the square, eying any and all potential targets. I wish I could have this Eagle Sense that the other two have, he mentally grumbled. It could make locating a target much easier. He bought an apple and munched on it between two other players sitting on a bench. They paid him no mind; they were doing the same thing. Out of the corner of his eye, he eyed three players, all male, wearing an outfit that didn't fit the usual player type. Two wore a leather shoulder cover on their right side that bore a red and silver cross. Included was a red and white shield that had the same symbol strapped to their back with a white robe over chain mail and silver armor. The leader of the two had a slight variation with a white cape and a red cross instead. His head was also covered by a silver helmet with a gold cross splitting his face at the nose.

"Out of my way!" the head soldier ordered. "Move aside!" The group pushed their way through the crowd to a nearby pub. They had an agenda to finish and they wanted it done quickly.

Connor took the last bite of his apple and quickly messaged Darren and Akiko to make their way to his position. He had a sinking suspicion about these three and prayed it wasn't true. The trio pushed through the door of the pub, Connor following not too far behind. He removed his hood to avoid drawing suspicion to him.

The newcomers found their man that was wearing another guild's uniform, shook hands with him and made their way to a corner of the place, preferably away from prying eyes or even ears. Connor took a seat at the main bar close to where they were, but not close enough to draw any attention.

"Good to see you, Itachi," one of them said.

"Likewise, Gumo. Dei. Hoshi," he said, nodding to each member.

"So, what can you tell us?" Hoshi asked, ordering a round of beer for him and his crew.

"The party and leader already left to take on the dungeon earlier today. They won't be returning to base for at least another two hours," Itachi said.

"And you've got the planned route and everything?" Dei added in. "The Grand Master said we'd help eliminate your leader so you can take over."

"After all, that is what you want, right, vice commander?" Hoshi reminded.

"_My _leader, Kin, is no leader. Just because you founded the guild doesn't mean you're automatically a leader." He took another drink from his beer.

Connor's right leg wouldn't stay still; his suspicions were confirmed. Templars were real and they're on the move. C'mon, you two! Where are you? Connor mentally shouted. His head turned when the door opened. It wasn't Darren nor Akiko, but it was someone he was just as happy to see: Asuna, dressed up in a guild uniform that was almost identical in color scheme to his targets.

She took her seat at the bar and noticed who was also sitting there. The next thing she was going to do was shout his name in joy, but was promptly stopped when she noticed the look on his face saying to keep quiet. He motioned his head behind him, indicating that an eavesdrop was taking place.

The group stood and said their goodbyes, shoving Connor off of his barstool on his way outside. Asuna quickly ran over, lifting him to his feet. "Was that…who I think it was?" she asked.

He nodded and stood up. "I tried to get the other two here, but they weren't fast enough!"

"Wait. Two? There's another Assassin?"

"Long story. I'll explain..." He trailed off, noticing something on the floor. He picked it up and studied it over. It looked like a map of the outer part of town with points of interest circled on the map. "I've got to find the others. They need to know about this. A guild is in trouble!"

"How can I help?" she asked.

Connor let a disgruntled sigh. It wasn't directed at Asuna, but the current situation he found himself in. "That's best left to Darren. Follow me," he said, pocketing the map and running to find the others.

When Darren found Connor's message, his location was on the other side of town. He ran a message by Connor to meet him at the fountain in the main square. There was no response from Akiko. He knew she was out doing a quest; she wanted to get money and fast. But, by the point they reached their rendezvous point, the three soldiers were gone and out of the area. "Damnit!" he shouted, digging a foot into the pavement. Not even his Eagle Sense could find a trace or even a clue as to where they could've gone. "Oh, c'mon!"

"Darren!" a female voice cried out. He turned just in time to find Asuna barreling towards him, swamping him in a massive hug. "I've missed you so much! It's great to see you!"

Darren returned the hug, feeling the same warm hug he had received countless times before. "It's great to see you, too." But, when he backed out and took a look at his friend, he couldn't help but start to laugh uncontrollably. The outfit she wore didn't look like anything that she'd normally wear. Her outfit consisted of a white blouse-like top with matching socks, boots and arm covers. The only color was red on her skirt, stripes in the blouse and a red cross on her socks. It almost made her look like a Templar, but her description didn't match that of Connor's.

Asuna's face burned red in embarrassment. She told her guild leader that the outfit looked ridiculous on her. "And I thought you'd be excited to see me, not laughing at my expense!"

Darren took a moment to catch his breath. "I'm sorry, but that outfit does not look like you!" Despite why he was laughing, he still felt it was nice to have a laugh in the current situation. Even Connor found it hard to suppress his laughter.

"Can we please get back to the problem at hand? Connor?!"

The boy in question inhaled deeply and cleared his throat. "Darren, those guys I trailed _were _Templars. The three man group intended to take out a guild leader so another can be replaced. But," he said, pulling out the map, "this is the map they made of the route home for the party and the ambush points."

"Let me see that." He took the map and unfolded it. "Just what we needed. Maybe we can use this to our advantage." The group moved back to the Assassins' temporary headquarters, which was the main room of their apartment on the floor. He laid out the map on the table. "We've got four ambush points. When did they say the party would return?"

"Two hours. The party left earlier this morning," Connor said, looking up from the map.

Darren studied the map carefully. "I don't know what to make of this. There are at least three to four people in each patrol."

"But look here!" Asuna pointed out. "Brush and bushes. They're either in or around the ambush points. Connor's told me about the training you've been putting him through, automatically so it should work."

Darren looked over at Connor. "Really?" Connor shrugged in reply. "Next time, keep the training under wraps." He looked back to the map. "Perfect. We can use the cover to our advantage. All we need to do is get Akiko back from her quest and we can have enough people to take out the ambush points."

"You forget." The two looked up at Asuna. "I'm not an Assassin. How can I take them out quietly? I'm not as trained as you two are."

Neither of the boys thought about that. Asuna couldn't take part in the ambush of an ambush, but there is one thing she could do. "There is one thing you can do." Her head tilted to the side in curiosity. "Look here," Darren stated, pointing to the upper corner of the map. "Coordinates. Once we take out the targets, your guild comes in and arrests the players. We keep 'em locked up for further interrogation. As for taking out the last point, I'll try to think of something."

"Good idea," Asuna said in reply, nodding in agreement.

"Arrest the players?" said a voice. All heads turned to see the female Assassin, Akiko, passing through the threshold. "What do you mean arrest the players? These are Templars we're talking about!"

Darren stood his ground and faced her. It was the first time he noticed her height stood dead even with him. "You didn't catch the part where we keep them locked up for further interrogation." He made his way back to the table and folded the map, handing it back to Connor. "The last thing we need is to be known as PK'ers."

"Then how do you suggest we handle this?"

"Knock 'em out. Simple enough, right?" Akiko found it hard to argue. Knocking out a target was one way to incapacitate them without causing any damage to the person.

Darren and Connor sent Asuna on her way to rally a party to arrest the ambushers and made their way to the ambush point. They stopped a few meters outside the ambush zone, allowing their Eagle Sense to detect all enemies in the surrounding area. Red highlighted figures were revealed in the woods; their targets were lying in wait. All cursors were orange, so it meant they must have committed a crime at some point earlier today. The three split up and silently made their way through the bushes to take them out.

Akiko stalked up to her first target: a rather big and bulky man wielding an ax. She quickly hopped up and locked her arms around the guy's neck, strangling him into unconsciousness. The target slumped back as she quietly laid him down in the bush. The next target was in her sight, unaware that he was one partner short. She made a move to knock out the next target, but froze when she saw another one moving in her direction. Akiko tried to quickly duck back into the brush, but the approaching sentry noticed her and made his way towards her. The man brushed a hand against his neck, a dart sticking out of it. He slumped to the ground unconscious in a sleeplike state. She didn't know what just happened, but that was just the opening she needed to take out the last one in her area. What was that? The Assassin made her way over to the sleeping guard and knocked him unconscious, pulling the dart from his neck. She brought it to her nose and inhaled, pulling it back when the smell hit her senses. "**Knock Out Darts**," she said to herself.

Darren stalked towards his zone, identifying three targets. He made quick work of his first target, a lanky looking boy a few years older than he was. His next one was a rather big guy, practically a wall of muscle. He had to jump just to reach his neck. The guy put up a superb fight, but he made no sounds; he was losing air fast. A dart flew into the back of his neck, a rather small window that could have knocked Darren out instead of the target. The wall of muscle finally slumped to the ground. He promptly knocked him out and also investigated the dart. "Who could have made these?" he said after he knocked out the last guard.

Connor's heart was racing as he stalked to his ambush zone. Thankfully for him, there were only two guards in the area, but he wondered if he would be able to knock his targets out. He made his way behind the first guard standing near a tent. He jumped out and wrapped his arms around the guard's neck. His target was able to make enough noise to draw the attention of his partner. But, the boy never made it to him. He slowly swayed and fell to the ground. Connor knew he had to hide the bodies to avoid attention, so he dragged the last guard towards the bush next to the tent. He noticed the dart sticking out of his target's neck; he knew what they were right away. "Never knew these would be making an early appearance," he said. His message box pinged with Darren's next move on the final zone.

The Eagle Sense revealed four targets. All three met in a gathering of bushes behind the camp. Three of them were mobile targets while one was stationary, leaning against the main tent of the camp. "So, what do we do now, Darren?" Connor whispered.

Darren looked over in shock. "M-Me? I'm not the tactician here!" he quietly shouted.

Connor smirked from under his hood. "C'mon, man. It's only fair the final group be led by the party leader."

"Time to see what the 'Assassin' can really do," Akiko teased.

He quickly surveyed the area from his hiding spot. Taking out the mobile targets, he thought, should be easy. But, it's that fourth target. Then he remembered an ace in the hole. "Here's the plan," Darren whispered. "Notice the bushes surround the camp. The sentries all stop in one spot, so make sure you make it to around the area and wait. Once they all stop, we simultaneously take them out."

"Great idea, but what about the last guard?" Akiko asked.

"I feel we've had a helping hand in this mission from the start. Each of you had one target go down from a sleeping dart, right?" The two nodded, albeit in shock that he knew. "I have a feeling whoever shot those can easily take them out." He looked up to the last strike. "Get in position."

All three made their way to each stopping point for the sentries. They stopped at the same time. The Assassins made their strike, strangling the guards into unconsciousness. The last one snapped out of his trance when he saw his partners being attacked. He tried to run to warn the others back at base, but was immediately shot by a sleeping dart, knocking him out in the bushes right at the outer edge of the camp.

With all guards knocked out and the ambush foiled, Connor sent a message to Asuna to send in the police to arrest the Templars. The response was almost immediate, her group arriving in little to no time. She smiled as she passed Darren to deal with the Templars.

Another group approached on the horizon. It was the dungeon party from the guild that was set for an ambush. "What happened here?" asked the leader of the group.

"You a member of the guild, Weapons of the Devoted?" Akiko asked.

"Member? I'm the leader, Kin. Why?"

Akiko stood back to allow Darren to explain. After he gave the story and the proposed ambush attempt, the leader looked like he was going to be sick. "I trusted him. Itachi. Who knew that he'd live up to his name." A new fire ignited in Kin's eyes. "When I get to him, he's a dead man!"

"Trust me; you may think that's a good idea," Connor said.

"But believe us when we say this," Akiko continued.

"Leave him to us. He has info we want," Darren finished. "I bet he already left town. But, if you or one of your men find him, let us know. We'll deal with him." The leader nodded in reply, gave the group his thanks and continued back to town.

Akiko approached Darren. "Good call with that last group. You've gained my attention, Darren." She stood close to him, just like when they first met. "That, and then some." She smiled, winked and waved goodbye as she walked away. "See you two back in town!"

When Darren and Connor made their way back to Asuna, they caught the end of her "intimidating" speech. "…orange, you are being sent to our prison to await further questioning." She nodded to another member of her guild who pulled out a **Corridor Crystal**.

"Corridor open: **Knights of Blood Headquarters**!" All Templars present vanished in a blue light, gone away to jail.

"Great job, everyone. Back to HQ." The three other knights teleported away to their home base. She turned to her friends. "I gotta say, it's great seeing you two again. I haven't heard from either of you in so long, and I find one of you is now an Assassin led by our best friend. So, who's the third Assassin who assisted in this?"

"Her name is Akiko, an Assassin in-game as well as IRL," Darren said. "She caught me and Connor in the woods when I was teaching him how to properly stalk. Her detection was so high up; she probably spotted us half of a mile away. After finding a fellow Assassin, how could I refuse her help?"

"Indeed," stated an older voice. All three spun around, hands on their hilts. "For, if you denied her help, this mission would've held a different outcome." There stood three other Assassins, one looking like the late Ezio Auditore da Firenze in his black and gray Master Assassin outfit. The other two had the same style of Altair except their colors were Caspian teal. "And with talent like that, I believe that we could use your help."

Darren loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword, but still kept his **Hidden Blade **at the ready. "Who are you?"

The head Assassin stepped forward and removed his hood, revealing short cut black hair with gray eyes and a matching black beard on his rounded face. "My name is Samson. Pleased to meet you, brother Assassin. I would like you to join our guild, the Assassins of Aincrad." He extended a hand. "Will you join us?"

Darren looked at the hand of the older Assassin. It's like Kayaba said; there are more, Akiko included. He realized that he would need their help if he truly wanted to get rid of the Templars. He took the extended hand and shook it.

"Welcome to our guild, brother. First course of action: I shall assign you as my tactician. Take that honor and wear it with pride."

Darren felt his blood run cold as he looked back at Connor. Great; this oughta be good, he thought to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**December 17, 2023**

"So, you say you're in need of another weapon, but aren't sure where to go, right?" Samson asked from behind his desk.

"Y-Yes, sir. My sword is good, but I feel I need a better weapon. It's gotta be one better suited for me," Darren said to his superior.

"And what of you, Connor? Is your katana suited to your liking?"

Connor shifted nervously, as if stating his opinion would get him knocked out. He felt the sway of his **Blow Pipe** shift against his shoulder. "W-Well, like Darren, I need one just for me. Each warrior is best known for his own weapon. King Arthur had **Excalibur**; Napoleon had his own saber; even you have your own, the **Sawtooth Cutlass**. I guess what I'm saying is that each person can be defined by the weapon they use," he replied.

Samson nodded in understanding and stood from his desk. "My blade, like many out there, was a custom sword. However, mine was found in a quest for Floor 30. But, thankfully, I do know of a shop here on this floor." He faced his subordinates. "Word has it that she can make just about any blade and each one is beyond the traditional sword."

The two looked at each other, curiosity painted across their faces. "What is the name of this shop?"

"Welcome to **Lisbeth's Blacksmith Shop**!" welcomed a warm feminine voice. The owner was a girl who looked no older than our heroes with bubblegum pink hair and freckles dotted across her cheeks. "What can I help you with?"

Darren found himself unable to speak. It wasn't so much that he didn't find her cute, he did; the hair took him for a curve, though. "U-Uh, I'm in need of a new weapon," Darren told the shop keep, "and so does my friend." He motioned to Connor who nodded his head.

The girl's eyes seemed to analyze the two from head to toe. "Well, is there any particular kind you're looking for?" she asked.

"I use a short sword," Darren said, unsheathing his current blade.

"I use a katana," Connor added, taking out his blade.

She took each sword and looked them over on her counter top. The stats popped up, allowing her to get an idea of what each sword was capable of. As she continued to look, her face went from one of interest to one of disappointment. "These swords are so low leveled. How did you two make this high up in the floors with these things?" she questioned.

Both blushed, but neither was sure if it was from embarrassment or from anger. Connor then remembered what _did _get them this far. "These," he said, flicking out the **Hidden Blade**. Darren joined in, showing his own dagger. "These are surprisingly strong weapons for something as small as they are."

Lisbeth started to shake. She had heard the rumors and now knew they were true. "A-A-Assassins," she squeaked. "I-I swear! I did nothing! I-I'm not affiliated with the Templars!"

Darren couldn't help but laugh. I guess everyone knows now, he thought. "That's not why we're here. We need weapons, better swords. The **Hidden Blade** can only do so much."

Her shaking slowly went away. She explained to them that she could help make the swords they wanted, but they would have the necessary elements in order to do so. Connor already had his after doing a quest called "**Heart of Steel**," which involved him having to take on an undead warrior who wished to be so strong that he ripped out his heart and coated the organ in steel to remain immortal. Not only did Connor have to challenge the warrior, he find to find where he kept the heart hidden. Thankfully, after a good amount of training, he found that he, too, could use the Eagle Sense to show clues and follow the trail. The reward was a fair amount of iron ore from the heart.

"I can have this sword made for you in about an hour," Lisbeth said to Connor as he handed her the ores. "Now, what about you?"

"Me?" Darren asked. He scanned his **Items **list, but couldn't find anything he could use in making a new weapon. The menu was quickly put away as he swore under his breath. "I've got nothing. And I can't do Connor's quest. I want this sword to be unique."

"Have you tried the mission here in town?" asked a voice from the doorway. Everyone turned to find Akiko walking through the threshold, hood off and face visible.

"How are you doing, Akiko?" Lisbeth asked her customer.

"Doin' fine, Liz," Akiko said, unsheathing her rapier. "I just came by because **Hope's Crusader **needs to have its durability brought back up." She tapped open her menu and found the necessary items. "Anyways, I overheard how you two needed new weapons, so I figured I'd find a mission to help you get items."

"Well, you're too late to help Connor," Darren said, pointing a thumb towards the blue-headed boy. "He already has iron ores and I have nothing."

"Not anymore, you don't," Akiko said. "Argo told me about a mission you can find in town that takes you to ancient ruins which, rumor has it, contains ores capable of making a strong sword where its durability is one of the best so far."

Darren turned to her with a look of intrigue. "And what's the catch? You're no different than Argo when it comes to giving out info, even to the Brotherhood."

Akiko felt a sly smile grace her face. "You're catching on to me quick, Darren. But, for once, consider this a freebee."

The boys nearly face planted at the shocking news. "Are you okay?" Connor asked.

"You can't get sick in SAO, but I'd say you're running a fever," Darren said, placing his hand on her forehead. She blushed when his hand made contact with her flesh. The warmth was bleeding through, filling her with a new feeling. "Uh, you're actually red. Are you sure you're not sick?"

"Positive," she said, swatting his hand away. She coughed into her elbow, hoping it would settle her bloodshot face. "Okay, fine. One ore, if it'll get you off my back."

"I can promise at least one. So," Darren started, still wondering what was eating Akiko, "where do I go?"

The quest, titled "**Treasures of the Mayans**," was started in a museum-like shop with an old curator saying he wanted nothing more than to bring back some artifacts from the ruins of an ancient temple. For each one found, there would be an ore included.

"So, which way do we go, old man?" Darren asked from the head of the group. The only ones present were him and the NPC curator.

"Take a left up here," the curator said, pointing up the fork of the road. "Shouldn't be too far now."

"You said that ten minutes ago," he mumbled under his breath. His ear caught the sound of a twig snapping. "Hold." His arm was held up, signaling the old man to stop. Out of the bushes jumped an NPC bandit.

"Give up all of your money!" he shouted.

Darren rolled his eyes. "So cliché," he mumbled. His sword remained in his sheath as he brought the **Hidden Blade**. The bandit swung his dagger, only to be blocked one of Darren's. The NPC never stood a chance as Darren sunk the other into the bandit's neck. "That was close. C'mon, old man!"

"With pleasure!" the curator shouted in reply.

The temple was gigantic. It reminded Darren of an old Mayan pyramid he'd seen in his textbooks. "Lead the way. I'll cover us," he said.

The curator followed the Assassin up a flight of stone stairs. The inside was pitch black and damp. Luckily, the curator had a torch on hand that he lit before continuing on. The fire cut through the dark. Darren held the torch higher as he scanned the area at the top of the staircase. There stood a Mayan statue that looked like a perch. "Here we go," the curator said, circling the statue. "We are close to the first artifact."

"You mean this statue?" Darren questioned, eying the details etched in the stone.

"No, no. This," he said, petting the stone like a pet, "is the next step to finding the artifact."

"How so?"

"Why, it's very easy." The curator took the torch and placed it in a holster on the wall. "Each person has a unique ability when it comes to finding treasures; call it an innate gift, a sixth sense. You must climb to the top of the perch and use that sense to find the treasure."

Darren absorbed the words like a sponge, understanding that the curator meant the Eagle Sense. When he climbed to the top, he activated his sixth sense. The world turned into a blurred gray and white color. He looked around the room until he spotted something along the wall: lines and shapes. "I see what you mean. But what does this mean?" he asked the curator. "I see shapes and lines. Is it like an actual treasure map?"

"I guess you could say yes. Adjust the shapes and see if you can line them with objects on the wall or in the carving."

Darren was confused about how to do so. The answer came from his tick he has when thinking: a tapping finger against his chin. Each time he moved his finger, the shapes moved to the right. Wait; it's the dragon heads, he thought. He moved the three squares until each one aligned itself. The shape pointed downward like an upside down triangle. The tip pointed down to the ground. He jumped and rolled onto the ground. "I take it you found the artifact?"

He continued to shift through the pile of rubble until he extracted the artifact: a chalice no bigger than a standard drinking glass. The cup appeared to be made from gold, the sheen unaffected by the stone. He continued to dig until he found one of the ores: a chunk roughly the size of an orange, silver in color. The ore was quickly pocketed before he stood back up. "Here's what I found," Darren said, handing the chalice over.

"Ah, yes. The **Chalice of Chac**, god of fertility. Wonderful find, my boy," the curator said, placing the cup in his bag. "Come! We have a four more artifacts to find!" Darren removed the torch from the holder on the wall and followed the old man further up into the temple.

The journey continued up three more flights of stairs, each one containing another statue, which lead to another artifact and ore. The artifacts found include the **Bowl of Yumil**, the **Rope of Ixtab** and the **Pitz Ball of ****Hunahpu and Xbalanque**. "What amazing finds, my boy!" the NPC said, slapping him on the back. "We have but one more artifact on the top floor, the greatest find of them all!"

"Better be worth it," he said, peeking back to check for any followers.

The sight in the last room was a rather gruesome one; many skeletons and pieces of armor were strewn all over the place. "Jesus, old man. The artifact could be hiding anywhere in here!"

"Believe in your sixth sense, and I believe that you can find it," the curator encouraged. The way it was said reminded Darren of his gramps in the real world. Tears threatened to spill over; he bit his lip to keep his face firm. He climbed the last statue and took a look around the room. The puzzle was an interesting one: it was on the ceiling. Once he aligned the shapes, he spotted a beam of light in the center pointing to the dead center of the room. He jumped down to find the artifact, but instead found, what looked like, a knob mechanism. "Perhaps if you twist it, the mechanism will open a passage to the artifact." Darren grabbed the knob and twisted.

What happened next was the sound of a loud rumble and gears turning and unlocking. Behind him, a stone door with the carving of **Quetzalcoatl **embedded in it slid open slowly. Upon the pedestal stood the final artifact. "The **Feather of Quetzalcoatl**. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd find it." The curator took the gleaming feather from the pedestal while Darren took the last ore, the size of a softball and placed it in his bag. "Thanks for the help, boy!"

Darren's ears picked up the sound of footsteps. "Get behind me, old man. Don't thank me just yet," he said, drawing his sword. From the shadows appeared, what seemed to be, another bandit, but an older, more experienced bandit. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am **Hiroshi, King of Thieves**," said the bandit with an Mayan accent. His eyes showed bloodlust as he drew his eagle-handled dagger.

"Kind of ironic that your name means 'generous' when you steal from other people." Darren's eyes widened when he saw two health bars appear next to the bandit's head. "Shit. It's a mini boss, just like with Connor!"

**Hiroshi **made the first move, quickly stabbing at Darren. He narrowly avoided the attack, but managed to bring his sword up and slash the chest of the enemy on the back swing. He found it hard to keep up with his opponent using his short sword. The bandit continued to strike, landing a few attacks on him, bringing his health down to mid-level orange. I can barely land a hit on him. This guy's almost as fast as Akiko, which means I can't use my sword, he thought, sheathing his weapon. It's slowing me down again.

"Ha! You're putting away your weapon!?" **Hiroshi **taunted. "That is foolish!"

"Who said that's my only weapon?" Darren taunted back. The bandit took no notice as he charged at the Assassin again. But, his blade didn't hit flesh; it hit metal. Darren had his **Hidden Blades** at the ready. "See what I mean?" **Hiroshi **shouted as he tried to land more hits on Darren, but the only thing he kept hitting was the Assassin's daggers. His last attack was heavily parried, leaving the bandit wide open. "You're fast." The boy vanished and appeared behind the attacker. "But I'm faster!" He sunk his dagger into the neck of the bandit, dropping his **HP **down to zero, ending the fight.

"You're really are something, boy! An amazing fighter! A warrior amongst warriors!" the curator said, shaking his hand in thanks.

"U-Uh, think nothing of it," Darren replied, scratching his neck in embarrassment.

"Now, let's go back to my museum to place these artifacts on display!" The two left the temple and made their way back into town.

Darren admired each artifact in its display case. The feather glistened brightly underneath the ceiling light. This one he admired the most, despite him almost losing his life over it. Totally worth it, he thought, eying the ores in his inventory.

"Once again, thank you, my boy!" the curator said from behind his counter. "Here's a reward for your troubles."

He wasn't sure what to say, considering _his_ reward sat safely in his inventory. His screen changed to a **Col Reward **screen. The amount showed **10,000**, which made Darren's jaw drop. It was the most he had ever received from a quest. "Thank you, sir!" he shouted from the door.

"Please stop by anytime!" the curator shouted back.

The Assassin made a quick pit stop to obtain more food from the market. On the way back to his HQ, a message appeared in his **Inbox**.

**Message from: **Asuna

**Subject: **See ya there!

**Recipient: **Darren

_ Hey, Darren! As you know, Christmas is practically around the corner. I was hoping that you and I could meet up on Christmas Eve and spend it together, just a way to keep the real world with us. I was wondering if you had your __**Music Skill **__up high enough and could maybe play some songs? I know you sorta played in real life and was hoping to hear a song to celebrate. What do you we meet up at the town square on the next floor at 8 pm? See ya there!_

Darren read over the message so he could remember the info. But he did notice one thing: why's Connor not invited? Should I bring him anyways? Unfortunately, he wasn't watching where he was going and knocked someone on to the ground. "Crap! I-I'm sorry!" he quickly apologized.

"N-No, it's fine- Darren!?" The voice belonged to a friend he hadn't heard from in so long: Kirito. "Long time, no see."

"Figuratively speaking! It's great to see you! I've heard a lot about the…" Darren's voice trailed off when he noticed an empty look in the soloist's eyes. "A-Are you all right, Kirito?"

"Hmm? Yeah. I'm doing fine," Kirito answered, brushing himself off.

"Really? Because your eyes say otherwise, my friend."

"Trust me. I'm fine." He quickly decided to change the subject. "But, it is nice to see the Assassin still doing his business."

"Actually, this floor has been relatively quiet of Templars. The last contact we had with them was Floor 45. I just completed a quest; I've got items for a custom sword."

"Congrats on getting those. I've heard they're not easy to obtain, at least some ores."

Trust me, you don't know the half of it, he thought to himself. When Darren looked again, Kirito's eyes begged to leave him be and go on doing his own thing. "Well, I might as well get this sword made. Best of luck to you!" He patted his friend on the shoulder and made his way down the street, sneaking one last glance at the soloist. What happened to you?

Lisbeth had just finished eating dinner when she heard her shop doors opening. She quickly swallowed her last bite and brushed the crumbs off of her clothes. "Oh, it's you!" she said, recognizing the hooded Assassin. "I take it you have the items needed?"

"Right here!" He opened his menu and deposited the ores onto her counter. "The last one wasn't easy to get; I had to fight a thief to keep the guy off of my NPC guide."

"At least you still obtained them. I should have this done in an hour." She then stopped to remember something. "Wait." Darren turned back. "What's your name? We can friend each other and I'll send you a message when it's finished."

"Okay, then. The name's Darren."

She quickly typed in the name, sending the request to the boy in the shop. "So _you're _Darren! I've heard a lot 'bout you," she told him, adding a wiggle of the eyebrows.

"I guess my reputation as an Assassin perceives me," he said scratching his head.

"Not that! She told me all about you; just went on and on and wouldn't seem to stop."

"Who? Akiko?" He figured she was the only girl to talk a lot about him.

"Nope. Asuna!" Shock quickly spread across his face. "Oh, yeah. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she adores you. Let's hope that info doesn't get out to the info brokers." She grabbed the ores and turned for the rear part of her shop. "After all, you aren't half bad looking." She giggled as his face got even warmer than it already was.

Connor chugged down another beer and motioned for another one. He heard the stool slide next to him and there was Darren, who also ordered a beer. "Hey, there you are. Akiko and I were starting to get worried about you!" he said, slapping his friend on the back. "Did you get the sword made?"

"In the process," he muttered half-heartedly, taking a huge swig of the drink placed in front of him.

"Damn, dude. You all right? You look like you've heard something huge!"

He didn't want to tell Connor about Asuna. Even if the beer didn't affect him, he'd still be teasing him about it. So instead, he brought up Kirito and the way he was looking. "He didn't have the same spark in his eyes from the 1st floor."

"I'd imagine not many do. I mean, given everything that happened up 'til now."

"This was different. It's like he saw something big happen…and he didn't stop it."

"Kirito? No way! If he's still anything like he is from Floor 1, I'd say he wouldn't let anything like that happen."

"Something _did _happen, Connor. I'm not saying that he caused it," he stated, taking a drink, "but whatever happened, he feels responsible."

An hour had passed. A message appeared in Darren's **Inbox**, just like Lisbeth said. He made his way over to the blacksmith's shop to retrieve his new weapon. "I bet it's going to be amazing!" Darren said with child-like wonder.

"Please, nothing compares to **Honjo Masamune**," Connor said with his hand resting on the hilt of his katana.

"Says you," Akiko interjected. "By the way, where's the ore you promised me?"

Darren kept a look of innocence when he replied. "Oh, that. Yeah, I used all of 'em on my sword." He scratched his cheek, adding on to the supposed innocence in his face.

"You did WHAT?! The auburn headed Assassin stomped up to our hero and grabbed him by his collar. She pulled him close enough that he could see her blue eyes through the shadow of the hood. "You just jacked me of my reward! And that's punishable by death!" To emphasize her point, she had her **Hidden Blade** drawn, the point sitting under Darren's chin. "What do you have to say for yourself!?"

There was a pregnant silence following Akiko's tirade. It was broken by the sound of someone laughing. It was Darren. He caught his breath and locked eyes with girl who currently held his life in her hands. "I have just one thing to say." The grip on his collar tightened. "You sure look cute despite being pissed off."

Akiko squeaked, blushed, and then loosened her grip on Darren's collar. "And I have it right here. There's one thing you should know about me: When I make a promise, I keep them. Just as I promised my friends I'd leave this game with them alive, and I keep the promise I'd get you this ore." He placed it in her free hand. "Sure, it's not a big promise, but it's a promise nonetheless."

She was speechless at what just occurred; she nearly killed a guy over an iron ore and he was cracking jokes _and _opening up to her. He hasn't done this since we first met, she thought. Maybe he really trusts me now. Or maybe he's just trying to get closer to me. She led the group into the shop where Lisbeth was laying Darren's sword on the counter.

"Here you go, Darren. Brand new, fresh off of the anvil. I hope you liked the design of the hilt," she said, handing the sword to the Assassin. The blade was double edged like a traditional short sword. The cross-guard was styled to look like eagle wings and the pommel looked like the face of an eagle, curving into a beak-like shape. The grip was covered with brown leather and had black leather bindings crisscrossing the handle from top to bottom. When Darren gripped the sword, it felt comfortable, like an extension of his body. The feeling was amazing, and despite the lightness of the sword, he saw that the damage it could deal was excellent.

"Liz, words cannot describe the amazing piece you have created," he said, putting the sword in its sheath on the counter. He gave her the money for making his sword. "It's astounding how you could make this feel like a part of me."

Lisbeth blushed as Akiko spoke, "She has an uncanny ability to make a weapon feel like that. I still mentally thank her in battle for **Hope's Crusader**, which reminds me." She drew her weapon and rested it on the counter next to the ore Darren gave her. "Use this ore to strengthen the blade."

"Can do," Lisbeth said, saluting. "It'll just be a few minutes." She took her friend's sword and went into the back of her shop.

Darren took the sword and strapped it to his back in place of his old sword. He stepped outside, his comrades close behind. The two watched as he took a couple swings to get a feel for the new weapon. The blade glowed orange as he activated a **Sword Skill**. He then brought out the **Hidden Blade**. His skill, **Levantine Approach**, seemed to be suited perfectly with this sword. Darren smiled in satisfaction as he held the sword in front of his face.

"So, now that you have this 'amazing' weapon," Akiko said, adding air quotes, "it needs an amazing name to match."

"Yeah, man. What name of such caliber is fit for it?" Connor asked, leaning against the wall.

The sword reflected his face. And in it, a familiar face appeared for a split second. Darren recognized the colors, the outfit, the face; there was no doubt his sword deserves that name. "Its name is the **Wing of ****Altaïr**!"

**December 24, 2023**

All of Floor 49 looked very festive for the holiday season. Snow fell everywhere, coating the ground in the white powder. There were Christmas lights and wreathes hung all over the main square. In the center was a giant Christmas tree, bright lights winding up the pine and ending with the trademark star on top.

Darren nearly fell backwards when he tried to see the top of the tree. Everywhere around him were friends and couples strolling along the streets, either chatting the night away or eating some sweets bought from a stall on the market strip. He scanned the crowd for two things: Asuna or Templars. "It may be Christmas, but I wouldn't put it past the Templars to plan some kind of shock tactic on the holidays," he quietly said.

The Assassins were currently off doing their own thing; Samson told them to enjoy the holiday, but remain alert. Connor figured he'd see if there was a single girl hanging out somewhere in the crowd and left Darren to himself. That he was thankful for; he still never told him about his rendezvous with Asuna. Akiko preferred to stay inside, nice and warm, with a couple of their companions at their place. He was getting tired of renting places and was hoping to find one place for all of them to stay.

"Finally found you, Darren." He turned to his left to see Asuna dressed in her usual Knights of the Blood Oath uniform with a cloak added for warmth. "You'd figure it'd be easy to find someone like you in a crowd like this," she said, motioning to the people in the square.

He couldn't help but laugh in reply. "That's good; all of that training is paying off. We have to hide in plain sight, even if it's obvious who we are." He stood up from his spot on the wall. "So, I assume you found a piano somewhere."

She nodded and pulled him along towards a nearby tavern. He quickly ditched his hood before entering. "Right over there." She pointed to the front corner of the tavern. "C'mon, I wanna hear some music!" she egged on, pushing him towards the instrument.

"All right, all right," he said in between laughs. Most of the patrons seemed to be NPCs, but there were a fair amount of actual players present. Okay, he thought, just let the **Music Skill **take control if it goes wrong. He cracked his knuckles and looked back at Asuna, who sat down at a table right behind him, cradling a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. The first song that came to mind was a favorite: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." His fingers danced across the keys, belting out the familiar tune that he had known since he was little.

When Darren finished, he noticed the bar had grown quiet. When he turned around, everyone had a content smile on their face. They applauded and asked him to play another song. His eyes locked with Asuna's, who gave a thumbs up, a blush striped across her face. The next song was "Silent Night." As he continued to play, a slight burning formed behind his eyes. The warmth escaped his closed eyelids, tracing a path down his face. It was a song that Ayako always wanted him to play on Christmas Eve. He'd play, she'd sing for all in attendance; granted the only ones there was usually his dad, gramps, Asuna and Connor, aka Kuro.

His fingers hit the last key on the keyboard, ringing out a beautiful sound throughout the tavern. He stood, his bangs concealing his tear filled eyes. He was hoping no one noticed, but one did: Asuna. She took his hand and led him from the bar. "I'm sorry," she said, sitting on a bench by the Christmas tree. "Had I known that would happen, I wouldn't have asked."

"No need to feel sorry," Darren replied, wiping his eyes. "I didn't know it would happen, either. But, I guess after being in a game for over a year, it reminds you of what's left back at home." He gaze dropped to his folded hands. "I miss them all."

"I know how you feel. I miss my dad. I wonder how he's taking this whole deal," she added.

That's right, he thought. Her dad is a member of RECT Inc., a group affiliated with VR gaming. "I guarantee he's just fine. They're strong, everyone one of them. We'll see them soon."

Asuna smiled in content and comfort. She scooted over and against his arm, her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Darren. I needed that."

Little did she know his face was bright red at the sudden contact, but he decided to play it off. "You know, if people see us, they'll start talking."

"Let them talk." She closed her eyes, sighing in content. "This is nice." Her eyes opened slightly to avoid falling asleep. The two sat in peaceful silence for a few minutes. There was a thought nagging at the back of her mind that she couldn't put away. "Hey… Darren?"

"Yeah?"

"You know… if rumors started to spread… who's to say it'd be bad."

Darren chuckled, his shoulder slightly shaking her head. "Not to us, but the contrary can be said about all of your adoring fans."

"B-But… do they… have to be just rumors?"

Realization struck Darren like a bag of hammers. He had suspicions about it since the last floor when she originally sent the message. But now, it had all come full circle. "A-Asuna… are you saying…?" She scooted closer, her hand gripping his sleeve. "Oh, Asuna. You can't mean that." She looked up, her hazel eyes glistening with unshed tears. They begged for an answer. It pained him to see his friend as such. She had placed her heart in his hands, but he felt he couldn't return the favor.

His arm wrapped around her shoulders. "All of this time… and I never noticed. But… but why?"

"You are an amazing person, Darren." Tears spilled over, tracing down her cheeks. "You've helped everyone stay free from Templar clutches. You're the silent hero of Aincrad. Even IRL, you went out of your way to help anyone, especially Kuro and me. You are more handsome than you may think you are. I always admired what you've done."

"That's where you're wrong, Asuna. All of those facts are not true. The only reason I'm seen as a hero is because I needed to help fix a problem. And handsome…I'm not as attractive as you think I am." He looked back at his friend to find her bangs hiding her eyes. Her shoulders shook with suppressed sobs as she braced for what he was about to say. "I'm sorry, Asuna. But I can't be what you want me to be. You deserve someone much better." Her cries became a little louder. It broke his heart to see one of his best friends so torn apart and by his hand no less. "I'm sorry."

Asuna shrugged his arm from her shoulders and quietly stood. "I'll see you later, Darren," she said in a quivering voice.

"Asuna." He reached to grab her hand, but she already took off into the crowd. "Asuna!" he shouted. She didn't reply; she just kept running. Her figure vanished into the crowd. Darren felt horrible for what he had done. He rested his head in his hands, sighing heavily. His best friend would find it hard to sleep tonight; he would, too.

"Hey, you!" shouted a voice. He raised his head to find a boy maybe two years older than he was standing over him.

"What do you want?"

"You made Asuna cry! That is unacceptable!" the guy shouted at Darren.

Darren sighed once again as he stood to make his way back to his place. "Look, I'm not in the mood right now. So, whatever you're planning to do, think before you do it."

"Shut it! You made her cry! And for that, you're going to pay!" A **Single Strike Duel **request appeared on his screen; it was the only duel allowed in safe zones. "Wait 'til everyone hears that I managed to beat _the _Assassin!"

The timer seemed to tick away rather quickly. The guy swung his ax, attempting to hit his opponent in the head to send a message. All he was met with was the clang of metal on metal. Darren's eyes remained hidden as his opponent jumped back. He raised it again and charged him with a warrior's cry only to be blocked again. The guy tried every move. Chop right; swing left; thrust. But every move was blocked and it was pissing him off. The opponent attempted another chop, but when he raised his ax, an icon appeared, stating that the duel had ended. He turned around to find the Assassin sheathing his blade. A digitized slash appeared on his right shoulder.

"Hey, that's not fair!" the opponent cried. "You moved too fast for a normal player!"

"That just means my **Speed Stat **is much higher than yours. How you made it this far is beyond me," Darren replied with no emotion in his voice.

"Why, you little-!" He attempted to throw a punch at the Assassin. Darren merely ducked under the strike and landed an uppercut under the guy's jaw. He lay sprawled on the ground, wondering what had happened.

Darren walked over and rested a foot on the fallen opponent's chest. "Like I said, I wasn't in the mood to be messed with. You tried to show off and ended up looking like a fool. So next time an opponent tells you to leave him be, leave him be!" He removed his foot and made his way back to the apartment to try and get some sleep.

Akiko sipped her tea in peace as the fire continued to burn in the living room. Her companions had taken off not too long ago, saying something about wanting some…alone time. Even now, she still found herself rolling her eyes.

When they left, she still found enjoyment in the book she had in her lap. "Funny to find some pleasures in this hell," she whispered. Another pleasure she enjoyed was modern style clothing, something more comfortable than her Assassin outfit and armor. Her current outfit was a dark purple sweater with white sweatpants and thick wool socks on her feet. Her attention was drawn from her book to the opening door; it was Darren. "Enjoy yourself?" she asked.

"Yeah," he mumbled. He switched out his outfit for a black sweater, red sweatpants and matching thick wool socks.

Akiko noticed a distant look in her friend's eyes. What happened? That's not like you, Darren, she thought, standing up. "Really? From what I see, you didn't have any fun."

"Look, something came up and I didn't want it to."

Akiko grew worried. "It wasn't the Templars, was it?"

"It wasn't them, thankfully. I guess the Grand Master enjoys the holidays," he joked, trying to change the subject.

"Then…what was it?" She wasn't letting him get off topic.

Darren drew in a long breath. "Do I really have to tell you? It's something… personal."

"And here I thought we knew each other enough that personal wasn't a problem," she retorted in a tone of disappointment.

"This is _very _personal, Akiko!" he snapped, turning to his comrade. "It's a matter of the heart!" Darren noticed a hurt look in her eyes despite a steely face. "I'm sorry. But, I was hoping you'd understand."

"I do understand an issue of the heart," Akiko comforted, "but, I want to understand _your _issue." She placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "A broken heart isn't a pleasant thing, and I've helped plenty of friends get through it. Now I want to help you." Darren's gaze locked with hers, tears threatening to fall. "Please."

He sniffed and allowed her to guide him to the couch. His glistening eyes reflected the orange glow from the fire as he drew in a shaky breath. "It's not my heart that's broken." The grip on his shoulder tightened. "It's another heart that is. And it's one that I never wanted to hurt."

Akiko nodded her head in understanding. "It was Asuna, wasn't it?" Darren turned to her shocked, a few tears escaping his eyes. "It was obvious how close the two of you are."

"More like 'how close we _were_," Darren corrected. He sighed and wiped his eyes. "Granted I rejected her, but it wasn't ugly how it went down. I still broke her heart. All of this time, how could I never tell that she liked me?"

"It's because you're a thickheaded dork," Akiko replied. Darren was shocked at what she told him. "In most cases like this, that's how it usually is. One's too dense to notice the other's affection." Akiko leaned against his arm. "I was one of them IRL."

"You? You don't seem so dense," he half-heartedly teased.

She playfully shoved back. "It's _exactly_ how it is right now. I didn't want to hurt him, but at the same time, I didn't feel the same way he did about me. But, you know what came out of it?" Darren shook his head. "He's still one of my closest friends. Granted, we're in different countries right now, but we still talk almost every day."

"You're a foreigner?"

Akiko blushed in reply; she was hoping to save that for another time. "I'm in Japan in a foreign exchange student program. How could I refuse to not play an amazing game like this while I'm here?"

Darren chuckled. But, his heart still ached despite the reassuring words. "How long did it take?" Tears burned in his eyes. "When will the pain stop?"

Akiko took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It all depends on the heart, Darren. I was hurting for a while and I knew he was, too. But, we did fix our friendship. And now, we're closer than before. Asuna will forgive you; just give it some time."

Darren's shoulders shook with suppressed sobs. He felt Akiko wrap her arms around his body and press his head into her shoulder. The gesture reminded him of when Asuna comforted him during his mother's death, and his resolve came crumbling down.

Akiko said nothing when she heard his cries finally become audible. Her hand trailed up and down his back, bringing painful memories to the surface. She remembered her mom doing the same for her. It will hurt for a while, but she'll forgive you, Darren, she thought, tightening her grip on him.

And in that moment, Darren had _truly _opened up to another. He wasn't truly close to anyone except Connor and Asuna in the game. But with Akiko, his wall had crumbled and he let her in.; she was someone he could truly call a friend.

**AN: Well, that last part sucked to write. I've hated writing sad scenes, but the results are worth it. If the quest from earlier sounds familiar, it's a twist on the Mayan stelas from AC: Black Flag. The design of Darren's new sword is essentially the same as the Sword of Altair from the series. **

**Also, sorry about the somewhat long update. School is tough to balance when you also have these ideas that you want to get down, but can't! But, I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait. So, what will become of Darren and Asuna? Or, is something to become of Darren and Akiko? Stay tuned and find out!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Intro:**

We hear the three keys typed, followed by a sound of activation. The keys typed **SAO**, which expand to **Sword Art Online** when the sound is heard. **Assassin of Aincrad** is seen underneath the Sword Art logo.

**(Instrumental) **The login screen fades to show Darren, Asuna and Connor appear at the Town of Beginnings in a blue light, all with worried looks on their face. The sky is pink with the appearance of Kayaba in his GM form. He then appears in front of Darren. The screen switches from Kayaba to Darren, looking mad, but then he nods in agreement. Kayaba vanishes and all present in the main square fall through a wide pink digital hole.

**Counter-action rising  
Yeah, we are ready for the punch line**

Next scene shows Darren flipping in the black void and landing in a crouched stance, his Explorer robes now on and his Hidden Blades armed. He slowly stands and sees the faceless figure wearing the Templar Grand Master robes.

**There's no use with all your gimmicks  
SO CHECK THIS OUT!**

He clenches his fist, teeth grit in anger. He jumps up with his blade poised and ready. The figure fades and he instead plunges his blade into a Lizard Warrior.

**Login you damned ones; crush the ones that compromise  
The noise comes, we are ready to bow  
What about the antidote for the jammed and hypnotized?  
Rend the lie that covers, who's the real sucker now?**

When he stands back up, he finds himself surrounded by many more of them. His hood conceals his eyes, showing no emotion to his current situation. He feels a hand on both of his shoulders, Connor, now an Assassin, on his right, Asuna on his left. He smiles at them, all three now drawing their blades. Asuna is using her most powerful rapier, **Lambent Light**. Connor is wielding his katana, the **Honjo Masamune**. Darren draws his one handed sword, the **Wing of ****Altaïr**. They all activate a skill and charge into battle.

**Sakimidareta hana no you ni ayazaka na itami daki  
Tatazamu machi o nukete mayoi no serifu wa sute**

The Grand Master watches a city from the window in his office, an evil smile seen from the side shot of his hood. A group of Templars then rush the dungeon, striking down anything and anyone in their path. They come upon the trio, exhausted from the fight before. Then, Kirito jumps over the group and starts attacking the Templars to save his friends with his sword, **Elucidator**. Agil joins in, Klein alongside the other two. When the group is vanquished, Kirito looks back, flashing a smile and a thumbs up.

**Kaerenai koe yo hibike  
We say, "Whoa-oh-oh-oh!"**

**Database, Database  
Just living in the database (Whoa oh!)**

The shot changes to all of them standing back to back in a city as the camera spins to each one's face holding a look of determination. The scene quickly changes to a shot of Lisbeth, smiling and holding her mace outside of her shop. Then it switches to Silica, giggling as Pina licks her cheek.

**The wall of pure fiction's cracking in my head  
And the addiction of my world still spreads**

The scene shows Kayaba, as Heathcliff, standing back to back with the Grand Master, a smile on his face. The Grand Master's eyes are hidden; only his gray beard is shown upon his stoic face.

**In the Database, Database  
I'm struggling in the Database (Whoa oh!)**

Darren kills a Templar, his body dissolving into blue pixels. He falls to his knees, eyes leaking tears as he slams his fist into the dirt. A hand appears in front of him.

**It doesn't even matter if there is no hope  
And the madness of the system grows**

He looks up to find the hand belongs to another hooded Assassin. The eyes are hidden, but an auburn ponytail is visible. He smiles and takes the hand, seeing his friends standing behind the stranger.

**Database, Database  
Just living in the database (Whoa oh!)**

The scene shows all at a pub, drinks held high as they cheer in celebration.

**Database, Database  
Just say, "Whoa-oh-oh-oh!"**

Darren turns to find Argo in a corner by the back door. His expression turns serious as he takes his last sip and follows her out, putting his hood over his head, his eyes vanishing into the shadow.

**(Final guitar riff)** The final scene shows the swords of Darren, Connor and Akiko's rapier planted in the ground, overlooking a river shining with the setting sun.

* * *

**March 8, 2024**

"So, are you gonna tell us what we want to know?" an Assassin asked the Templar scout in front of him. The handcuffed Templar remained mute, refusing to give up any knowledge. The Assassin, whose name is Ken, was one of the guild's top interrogators. "If you refuse to talk, we'll find a way to loosen your tongue." His bald head shined in the candle light as he made his way around the table.

There was quite a bit of activity lately that was all traced back to the Templars. The Assassins of Aincrad took some of these events as an opportunity to get more information and find their next target. One had already been eliminated, even though he wasn't a main target, but he still had plenty to say before Ken ended his life on the battlefield. The man was an arms dealer who dealt quite often for the Templars as they paid him handsomely.

Connor stood nearby, arms folded, as he watched the interrogation take place. It was in an underground gray brick room outside of the city's limits and far from the Bureau. Ken's methods were very unorthodox that all involved, but weren't limited to, taking the player's health bar down a piece at a time until they spoke. Thankfully for him, most Templars were marked with an orange cursor so any damage dealt did not turn him orange. He had to admit: Ken's style did work, but it was a bit barbaric, like something soldiers would do to prisoners. But, at this point, he was getting agitated with the Templar activity. He knew that the game's objective was to clear each boss floor, but with the rise of Templar activity, many refrained from fighting for fear of becoming their next victim.

Ken flicked out his blade and slashed the scout's shoulder, leaving a digitized slash in his flesh and a decent sized hole in his health bar. "Who do you work for? Who do they answer to?" The Templar's demeanor started to falter as the man towered over him. "We need names, locations, everything. I'm not going to let your people continue to strike fear into the populace." He slashed the other shoulder, bringing the scout's health bar to just under mid-green. "Give me an answer!"

"Just so you know," Connor added from the sidelines, "this man won't hesitate to bring your health to one if you don't speak." He walked up and spoke in a quiet, yet firm tone. "Don't make him do something drastic. Just tell us something."

The Templar slightly shook as the navy blue Assassin stepped back. "M-My leader is the tactician for our guild! I-I never met the m-man face to face, only from a distance."

"What does he look like?" The man hesitated to speak until Ken stabbed his leg. It was times like this the Templar was thankful the pain sensors were down so low, but the discomfort of a dagger in his leg and his health now being in the yellow made him think otherwise. "I'm not going to ask again!"

"H-He's tall, your height! He wears a c-cape with the red cross across the back! He usually h-has a helmet on! It has a gold cross that goes to the b-bridge of his nose!" the scout cried out.

"Does he have a name?" Connor asked. The man's face straightened up; he refused to utter the most important clue they wanted. He nodded to Ken, who twisted the dagger deeper. "I don't want to have to take a prisoner's life, but my friend doesn't feel the same remorse. I'm not going to ask again: what's his name!?" He feared the answer; he didn't want it to be _him_.

The man shivered from having Ken's intimidating look so close to his face. "H-Hoshi! His name is Hoshi!" His fears were confirmed. It was the Templar from the first sighting in the attempted guild ambush.

"Where's your post?" Ken asked.

"Two floors down, about a half a mile outside of the city. I swear! I swear that's all I know!" the man shouted. Ken smiled and removed his dagger from the scout's leg. Connor gave the man a healing potion, bringing his health back up. This is where the two often found themselves at a disagreement on. Ken always argued that men like the Templars shouldn't be allowed to be showed mercy. While Connor did agree, he fought back with that if they didn't keep their prisoners alive, they'd be no better than the PK guild, the Laughing Coffin. He didn't want to kill anyone they could get information from. If they did, they'd be losing their humanity with each victim.

"We got what we needed. Let's get out of here," Ken said, grabbing the prisoner by the upper arm. Connor pulled out a teleportation crystal and teleported the group back to the Bureau.

Samson and Darren were in his office, overlooking a map of the current floor they resided on. The leader had sent out a scouting party earlier to do a full synchronization of the floor and come back with mapping data. The group returned about ten minutes ago, map in hand.

Darren found himself become better and better for plotting out attacks and ambushes on Templar encampments; it was a job he initially dreaded. He watched Connor and Ken leave with the scout earlier and was wondering how that was going over.

"Sir, we've returned and with information to follow," Ken stated to the Master Assassin.

"What news do you have?" Samson asked, looking up from the map on the desk.

"We have a possible next target, sir," Connor spoke up, "and we have his location as well."

"Hoshi. He's the Templars' tactician. His base is two floors below us." Samson nodded to Darren who searched for the map to Floor 55. He unrolled it on the desk and allowed the two to point out the location. "It's here." Ken pointed to a small village outside of the main city. "If I'd have to guess, it's all been reformed into a Templar encampment, so the casualty rate of innocents would be minimal."

"That sounds about right. Darren, what's our plan?" Connor asked.

"Same as always: start from the outside and work our way in. Sabotage any and all bells," Darren said, scanning the village layout. The village looked somewhat fortified all around its outer perimeter. "We'll get in through here. There's a small possibility this part has been overlooked."

"And what do we do if we're discovered?"

Connor couldn't believe he heard these words coming from his friend's mouth: "We hack and slash our way into the center should things go pear-shaped."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"What's wrong with it?" Ken asked. "It sounds like a sound idea. We just charge and use force to take out the target."

Samson mulled over the attack plan. "The plan shall go into motion." The three nodded in agreement. "However, if you are spotted or if something goes wrong, you _are not _to go after the target."

"What?" Darren asked in shock. "B-But, sir-"

"You are to fall back into cover and avoid any and all patrols that will follow. Connor, I know you've met this man before, so I'm giving you charge of the team of Darren and Akiko."

"Y-Yes, sir."

"Sir, I don't-"

"End of discussion, Darren!" Samson exclaimed. "I don't want to lose any of my people because the plan went awry. Again, I say: you _are not _to pursue the target. Dismissed." The three turned and made to leave. "Connor, stay here." The blue-haired boy looked confused and made his way back to his leader's desk.

The doors behind him closed. "W-What do you need, sir?"

Samson sat behind his desk and sighed heavily. "I never thought he would really be going after blood, but it seems I was wrong."

"Sir?"

Samson looked up at the Assassin Initiate in his presence. "Connor, you may be low in the ranks, but this is a mission I cannot allow to get out of hand. Darren seems intent on killing this target."

"I-I've noticed, sir. However, I-I can't help but somewhat agree." Samson made a face that told Connor to continue his explanation. "Sir, the target may be high in command. It could be the next step to finding the Grand Master."

"I know that feeling, too. This game is maddening and Darren may be slowly succumbing to the dementia of it all." There was a silence that followed his statement. "And I noticed you did not initially agree with the plan."

Connor tensed and lowered his eyes to outer edge of the desk. "It's… a reckless plan. One would think he's throwing his life away for a target, and it's not even the target that one would do so for."

"Are you saying you'd do that to take on the Grand Master?"

"Not me, personally, sir. But, there are a few reckless people out there who would."

"And you fear Darren may end up doing that?"

Connor inhaled a shaky breath. His eyes locked on the ceiling to prevent the tears he felt building up in his eyes from falling. "He's my best friend. I can still remember the promise he made to me and Asuna the first day this hell started. He promised to get us both out alive, himself included. But, after today, it sounds like he'd be willing to do anything to get just _us_ out alive, even if it costs him his life."

"A noble cause, wouldn't you say?" Samson from behind folded hands.

"Not when he thinks sacrificing his life may be a part of it all!" Connor shouted, tears falling from his eyes. Samson didn't flinch at the young man's outburst. He realized his mistake and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, but I don't want him to throw away his life so carelessly."

Samson took a moment to take in everything that was said. "You've heard the saying, 'There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends?' Perhaps, he believes that your lives are worth more than his."

"B-But… what would my life be like without him? I'd be devastated; Asuna and his family would be, too. It's a noble cause, but I don't want him to."

"That is why I put you in charge of the team for this mission, Connor." He brought his eyes up to lock with his Mentor's look. "I knew you'd try anything to keep him from throwing his life away. You don't want to lose a friend. I don't want to lose a comrade." Connor nodded in understanding. "You are to gear up and leave in two hours. The cover of dark should give you ample opportunity to handle the mission with no repercussions." The Initiate nodded and left the room. Samson stood and watched the city from the window. "Darren, don't give in to this madness. Prove yourself stronger than I."

* * *

The time had come. Darren, Connor and Akiko all knelt outside of the opening. The dark provided great cover for the three to sneak up to the outer perimeter undetected. "You know what to do," Darren said, having already explained the planned route to get to the main hub.

"I'm taking the lead," Connor spoke up. "Akiko, you take the middle. Darren, you're covering the rear, watching for any stragglers that could catch us."

"What? Why?" Darren asked in shock.

"Need I remind you that Samson put me in charge, therefore I call the shots." Darren gritted his teeth, but gave in. The three made their way through the crack, one by one into the bushes on the other side. Their position was not too far from the center of the village, giving them enough time to think through the patrols.

Connor took the lead, scouting ahead to the first campsite. Only four were in the patrol, eyes locked on the fire attempting to keep them warm. All four had an orange icon above their heads, once again allowing them to remain in their green states. The strike was quick and clean. Darren started by throwing a knife into the chest of one, shocking the others. The three Assassins came up from behind and sunk their **Hidden Blade **into the necks of the Templars. The daggers were leveled up high enough to the point where one stab into a vital spot of the body meant an almost instant death. All four dissolved into the blue pixels, allowing the group to continue on to the next spot.

Darren knelt in a bush away from the other two. The guards were chatting idly as he took in all of the information like a sponge. "So, did you hear about the Assassins catching Kiba in one of our raids?" one asked the other.

"Wonder how much information he gave away," the other added. "I've heard the Assassins have ruthless interrogators; they make ours look like pansies."

"Do you think that's why we upped the patrols tonight?"

"Hell, if I'd have to guess, they're on the way here as we speak."

"Or perhaps they're already here," Darren spoke up, stabbing the two, dropping their health down to the red. One more stab to the chest and the guards were dead.

Akiko was watching from nearby with Connor. The two were waiting to move until Darren could clear the way for them. She saw the guards fall and disappear. Her fellow Assassin appeared from the brush, his face glowing orange from the campfire. She noticed his eyes were different. They always held a certain glow, something that always drew her to his gaze. But now, his eyes seemed lifeless; they didn't have the familiar glow she always saw.

"Shit," Connor cursed. "I was afraid this would happen. Even Samson did, too."

"You see it, too?" Akiko asked. "His eyes are…hollow, lifeless."

"This is why Samson put me in charge. Now I'm worried."

The group ventured further into the village, sabotaging only a handful of bells and dodging every patrol. The path led straight to the main hub; guards were swarming the area. "Well, now what do we do?" Akiko asked.

Connor counted the number of guards in the area. The final count stood at fourteen. "This is way too many. We need to fall back and get reinforcements," Connor deduced.

"Hold on!" Darren silently added. He had his Eagle Sense active. There, shrouded in gold, was their target, Hoshi. "There he is! He's within grasp! We can still get him!"

"Darren, hold off on that idea! You know that Samson said to fall back if the plan goes wrong," Connor reminded.

"But, the plan hasn't gone wrong. Hoshi is within reach! He's there and we haven't been spotted yet!"

"Or have we?" Akiko asked, turning around. There stood two brutes that grabbed the three and yanked them up from the bushes.

Hoshi smirked as he heard the three Assassins struggle against the walls of muscle. The now prisoners were forced on their knees with their hoods pulled back. He knelt in front of Darren, grabbing him by his chin and scanning his face. "Funny. I expected the infamous 'Assassin' to look older, or at least more rugged," he stated to all present. He removed his helmet, revealing close cut blonde hair. "But now I see, he's nothing more than a kid!" The soldiers laughed at their leaders remarks. "So, you've come to see me dead, Assassin? Or, will you not bless me with their courtesy of knowing your real name since you know mine?"

Darren said nothing as he and his group was practically humiliated in front of God and everyone. This Templar was a step above the rest of the regular grunts, but only a step. Somehow, he knew where they'd be and also around what time, too. "Let me guess: that opening was intentionally left there," Darren said, eyes glued to the dirt.

"Of course. You think we'd be stupid enough to let something like that go unnoticed? It was merely a ploy to let you fools walk right into our hands."

"And Kiba? What of him?" Connor wondered.

"Ah, yes, Kiba. Needless to say, him getting caught was not originally part of the plan. But, it worked out just the same. You're still here at the point of a sword, just minutes from death." Hoshi drew his sword and leveled the tip of the blade at his enemy's temple. "I hope you've made your peace with the other side."

Darren felt the sword rise up. He nodded to his comrades. It was a last ditch effort should it come down to such a situation. They jumped up and thrust their daggers under the jaws of the brutes that had subdued them. Templars all too often seemed to forget of the special weapons that Assassins always had with them. The troops in the camp charged the now free enemies. Another blunder these men had was not taking their weapons. He drew **Wing of ****Altaïr **and made quick work of the man who tried to rush him. Thankfully, this wasn't a duel so he used his skill, **Levantine Approach**, with little hesitation. His last target was attacked without remorse as he stabbed his target repeatedly despite his health having already dropped to below five percent.

Akiko couldn't help but look on shocked at the vicious scene she saw with Darren. She shook it off and quickly, yet gracefully thrust her sword into the abdomen of the knight that had locked blades with her. **Hope's Crusader **looked like red needle points from the **Multi-Stab **skill she learned from Asuna. Two knights' health fell straight down to red. She moved quickly, slashing one from the hip up to his opposite shoulder and the other straight across his chest.

Connor had no problem using **Honjo Masamune**. The three guards who attacked stood no chance against him. He stunned one by knocking him over with his shoulder, following it up with a **Reverse Thrust **into the rear guard's abdomen. He withdrew his sword and performed an **X-Slash **with Darren who had joined his fight after finishing off his enemy.

Hoshi stood back, his still drawn sword shaking in his hand. The Assassins were currently proving themselves more formidable than he had originally given them credit for. He had to escape and go back to the guild headquarters. He took a step back and spun around, taking off into the night.

"He's getting away!" Akiko exclaimed.

"The hell he is!" Darren shouted, removing his sword from the knight he had stabbed. He ran off after the retreating target.

"Darren, no!" Connor shouted after his best friend. It was too late; he was in hot pursuit. "Damn it!"

Darren sprinted after Hoshi. He had to stop him before he got to the woods. The man was in his sight. Once he got close enough, he tackled the man to the ground and pinned him there with his knee jammed in his sternum. "Got you now!"

"Do you now?" Hoshi laughed in reply. He took notice of Darren's health bar that was currently in mid-yellow.

"Darren, wait!" The boy turned back in response to his name. Connor and Akiko ran up the hill leading to the forest entrance. That gave the opening Hoshi wanted. Darren felt a blade thrust into the left side of his chest. He was in shock as he watched his health drop dangerously low to the red. There was a very small amount of red left in his bar as he collapsed to the ground.

Akiko felt her world come crumbling down. Darren slumped to the ground, mortally wounded and running out of time. Inside her, something snapped. All she saw was red and felt pure fury burn through her veins. Hoshi tried to stand, but was barely able to with Akiko's knee in his gut and her sword through his chest. She lifted him up and threw him against a tree, using her **Multi-Thrust **skill once again.

Connor supported Darren's head and looked on in shock and awe at her viciously attacking the man. The needle point attack quickly brought down Hoshi's health piece by tiny piece, but the amount of strikes made it drop at an alarming rate. The Templar tactician slumped to the ground, pleading for mercy as Akiko sheathed her blade.

"Please, please! Don't kill me! I'll give you anything!" Hoshi cried, pleading for his life.

Akiko towered over the shaking man. "You can give me all the info you want, but it won't stop me from taking your worthless life!"

Hoshi couldn't help but laugh at the notion. "Just like an Assassin truly would. But you do realize that the Grand Master shall prevail and true order shall come over these people," he said, wheezing.

"His form of order is controlling the land with an iron fist and keeping us trapped here in this world forever. Now, what's next!?" she demanded.

"If I give you info, will you let me live?"

"I'll consider it."

Hoshi drew in a long, shaky breath before speaking. "His second-in-command is named Hiroshi. Also, a fair warning to you and your comrades that one of our moles is in one of the bigger guilds. I'm not saying which one, but consider that another problem for you to figure out." Hoshi laughed as he slowly sat back up. He was met with the blade of Akiko's **Hidden Blade **buried in his chest. His face fell with horror. "Y-You said you'd let me live!"

"I said I'd consider it. That was for nearly killing a man I care deeply for."

Hoshi couldn't help but laugh once again. "Pathetic. Love is w-weakness. Here, it's a-an illusion!" He drew in one last breath. "And they m-may use that as an advantage." Hoshi disintegrated into nothing.

Darren was internally panicking at seeing his health so dangerously low. But on the outside, he had gone into a form of shock, looking relatively calm, but still mumbling nonsense. "O-Oh, this looks bad, Connor," he mumbled.

"Trust me, buddy. It's not as bad as you think. We'll get you out of this," Connor reassured.

Akiko made her way back over to her fallen comrade. "How's he holding up?" she asked Connor.

"He's gone into some form of shock. We need to get him out of here!"

The female Assassin knelt next to Darren's head. "Hey, Darren. You all right?"

Darren forced out a laugh. "Peachy." He drew in a breath and looked the girl in her bright blue eyes. "Hey. I've got something to tell you."

"Can't it wait 'til we get you fixed up?"

"I have a feeling I won't make it that far."

"C'mon, dude. Stay with us; don't talk nonsense."

"Yeah, Darren. Focus on our voices," she added, lightly slapping his cheek.

Darren grabbed her hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. "Remember when we first met back in the woods on Floor 29?" Akiko nodded, unsure of where he was going with this. "Let's just say all the times I've teased you after that, like saying you looked cute when you were angry were all true." His grip tightened. "I've always liked you since then. Just remember that." His hand fell slightly limp, but not falling from her hand.

Akiko's heart stopped when she felt his grip go slack. "I-Is…is he…?"

Connor placed a finger to his friend's neck, relieved to feel the throb under the skin. "Unconscious. We gotta get him back."

"Don't you have any potions?"

"I used the last one during our interrogation."

"Are you kidding? I don't have any either. Did you get in a fight with the guy?" she snapped, tears filling her vision

"Let's just say Ken is unorthodox in his means of getting info. Is there at least a teleport crystal?"

Akiko quickly searched through her **Crystals Slot **in her **Items **menu. "Right here. Teleport: Bureau!"

* * *

Darren's eyes slowly opened. All he initially saw was the familiar ceiling of his room. A quick glance at his health bar revealed he was back to full health despite having a brush with death. He scanned the room to find his sword leaned against the wall, his outfit hanging on the hook in his room, Akiko curled up in the chair- wait, what?

Sure enough, the chair he kept in the corner of his room had been pushed to next to his bed and the auburn-haired girl was curled up in a ball asleep. Her shoulders rose and fell with her steady breathing. There were slight bags under her eyes. "Was she up all night watching me?" he said to no one. He sat up, pushing the covers off of him, revealing he had been changed into his sleeping clothes that consisted of a navy blue t-shirt and matching sweatpants. His socked feet touched the hardwood of his floor and his hands reached the ceiling as he stretched out his muscles. He rolled his neck, hearing the satisfying pops.

Before he left the room, he gently lifted Akiko from her spot in the chair to his bed. All the while, he was still slightly shaking, but was mindful to not wake the sleeping beauty. Her hand grasped his sleeve as she mumbled something in her sleep. He pulled the covers over her, replacing his sleeve with the corner of the blanket. She shifted in her sleep, nuzzling her head deeper into the pillow. Darren couldn't help but quietly chuckle at the sight; it was one he never saw. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek, his cheeks burning red at the same time. "We have quite a bit to talk about when you wake up," he told her sleeping form. She gave no reply; her shoulders only continued to rise and fall in her peaceful sleep. But there was a smile gracing her face.

Connor continued to pick at the food he had saved from the night before. His ears perked up at the sound of footsteps descending down the hardwood. They belonged to his best friend, now looking well rested and better than he did over twenty four hours ago. "Darren!" he exclaimed.

"Connor!" his friend exclaimed back.

"Good to see you're still awake and alive," he stated coldly.

"Hey, what's up with you?"

Connor dropped his fork and sighed, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong? After all that happened, that's what you have to say?"

"Hey, from my understanding, we eliminated the target and got more info, too. What's the problem?"

"The _problem_ is that despite what Samson said about me calling the shots, you still chased after the target even when the mission went awry!"

"Hey, keep your voice down! Akiko is trying to sleep!"

"And another thing! Because of your recklessness, you were nearly killed and because of _that_, she was worried sick! She stayed up all that night and yesterday, too! Your recklessness is going to get yourself killed one day!"

"But has it so far?! Why would you be that worried?" Darren asked, getting close to his friend. The confrontation was about to come to a head.

"Because, you idiot, I care about you!" Darren stepped back. Connor ran a hand through his hair. "Your promise has stuck with me since the first day we were in this hell. I expect you to keep that promise; not just for my sake or Asuna's, but yours as well." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you're getting out with us alive, I'm getting out with you alongside us. Remember what there is to lose in the real world. Ayako would be devastated."

After hearing everything that Connor had told him, he felt like an idiot. In all of this madness, he realized he was starting to succumb to it, nearly throwing his life away. "I felt if you could at least make it out without me, then you'd still continue on. But, I forgot that you and others would be heartbroken. I don't know why I was in such a hurry to sacrifice myself."

"Samson reminded me that it's a noble cause to think of and I can agree with him. But, you don't have to play the part of the hero. Leave that for someone else; you're still needed here with us. After all, someone still has to help me hook up with Honoka," he kidded, smacking his best friend upside the head. The two laughed, knowing he was hopeless without Darren's help.

Darren took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I'm going to go find Asuna. She and I… we have something to fix. Hopefully by the time I'm done, Akiko may still be asleep. I don't want to deal with her if she doesn't have enough beauty sleep." He made his way back upstairs to grab his robes before leaving. He saw the still slumbering form of Akiko, peaceful and undisturbed. He brushed a strand of her hair from her face and said, "I'll be back. Get plenty of sleep. You'll need it." The door quietly closed as Darren made his way out to rendezvous and patch things up with his friend.

Asuna made her way through the crowd with her escort, a tall, lanky, black-haired man by the name of Kuradeel. Her **Inbox **flashed with a message from Darren, requesting to meet up with her. She had let her guild leader know about this and requested to attend to this matter. He agreed, allowing her escort to get experience at working with her. She turned down an alley to the pub where he wanted her to meet up at. "Wait out here," she ordered the escort.

"Take your time," Kuradeel replied.

A quick scan revealed no Darren in sight. It wasn't until she saw him step out of the restrooms and walk back to his table in the corner. She figured that his way of letting her know where to go. Her walk was slow despite the long strides she took to reach him. Asuna felt apprehensive about joining the young man she had confessed to and was rejected. She took a seat across her friend with the hazel eyes.

As it turns out, Darren was feeling no different than Asuna was. His friend, with whom he had not spoken to in a month and a half, the one he turned down, was once again by his side. He only hoped they could fix their ties and be friends once again.

Asuna took small sips from the cup placed in front of her. Neither of them wanted to initiate the conversation; the awkwardness was already at an all-time high. Darren set his stein down after taking a heavy swig. "So… how's the Oath?" he asked.

"It's… okay. Clearing the dungeons, find the boss, get us closer to home," she quietly replied.

"Cool." Another long drink followed his comment. "Hey, Asuna?" Her eyes looked up to meet with his. "I… I've missed you." He noticed her hands were gripping the cup of tea tighter. "I-I'm still sorry for what happened that night."

"D-Darren… I'm the one who should apologize," she insisted. "After that night, I've made no intention of contacting you. I guessed that you didn't want to feel more awkward that night."

"If that's the case, then it's my fault. I could've made an attempt to let you know how I was at least doing." The words fumbled out of his mouth, fearing that he would unknowingly let slip of what happened not too long ago. "But, I figured me trying to talk too soon would just open old wounds. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you…well, even more." He cleared his throat, hoping to defuse the building awkwardness.

Asuna's grip still didn't loosen. "I w-was hoping y-you'd say yes. There was just so much about you that I found myself attracted to." A couple tears streaked down her face. "W-When you said you didn't feel the same, I-I thought it was s-something I did. A-And all I kept thinking about that night was, 'What did I do wrong?'"

Darren didn't want to see this; it was making heart ache more. She squeaked with silent cries. His hand reached across the table, gently grasping her thumb. "It had nothing to do with you. It was all me, Asuna." He let out a quiet chuckle. "Your best friend was too dense to see it the whole time." He put on his serious face and cupped her chin, bringing her shattered hazel eyes to look at his. "I'm still sorry for hurting you. Despite what's happened, don't let this faze you. You're an amazing girl, Asuna," he told as his thumb wiped away her tears, "and even though I didn't feel the same doesn't mean there isn't a better person out there who is. I'm… just not it."

She sniffled and grabbed Darren's hand, holding it tightly. "At the time, I saw you were the one. And even now, I still do. Maybe not the one for me, but for someone else out there who deserves your love more than I do."

"That'd have to be a very important person to take all of my love and keep it for only them. I've loved anyone I've ever called friend, you included. And besides, you and Connor are still the only ones I give an actual damn about in this game."

"That may be pushing it," she halfheartedly joked.

"What?"

"Rumor has it that the infamous Assassins have a couple of their own forming in their ranks." Darren's face started to burn red with embarrassment. "Also… Darren." He looked up at hearing his name again. "It's nice to see that you're okay." Her face fell once again, but more with fear. "Connor let me know everything about what happened." The grip on his hand shook slightly. "I was so scared hearing you almost didn't make it. If that happened, I don't know what I would've done. How could I continue going on without one of my best friends? And let alone one I never got the chance to apologize to?" Her voices disintegrated into sobs.

"But, as you can see, I'm not. We're having this chance now to fix what was hurt. Sure, I nearly died, but you could've continued on. You're strong, Asuna. Connor would've made sure you'd never forget what you're fighting for. I'm too stubborn to die. That promise I made to you two I intend to keep." She looked at him again to see the strength and love she always saw in his eyes burning once again.

The Assassin wrapped his friend in a warm embrace when she hugged him and cried. He pressed her head against his shoulder, just like she had done for him once before and pet her head, easing her cries. She kept repeating how she was happy he was still alive, how sorry she was and how they'll always remain friends. In that moment, he couldn't ask for more: his friend forgave him and, like Akiko said, their bond is stronger now, more than ever.

* * *

Akiko's eyes slowly opened. Her vision slowly cleared to find herself in Darren's room, except she was sleeping horizontally. She slowly sat up, pushing the comforter off of her. "How did I end up here?" An idea flashed through her head that made her less than pleased. "Darren, I swear to God, if you talked me into-" She threw the covers off and turned to her left to find the space next to her empty. "-bed? W-Where did he go?"

"Right here," answered a voice from the doorway. Her head snapped up to see the young man clad in his casual attire of a light gray t-shirt with a red stripe across the chest and regular blue jeans. His feet were bare as opposed to when there's usually a pair of boots. "That look says I am _so _lost."

"Y-You could say that," she agreed, bringing her knees to her chest. "How did I end up here? Where did you go? A-Are you all right?"

"Easy, Akiko. One question at a time, please." He took a seat in the chair situated next to his bed. "First, I put you there just after waking up." Akiko's face heated so quickly that Darren swore steam could've been coming off of her cheeks. "He said you had been there for so long, barely even eating. There was no way I was letting you sleep there. Which leads me to my second answer: I went and patched things up with Asuna."

Her blush died down a little. She felt elated, yet still embarrassed. "Really? How'd it go?"

Darren looked at the childlike wonder in her eyes. "We're back on track. It was just like you said, 'stronger friends now.'" He quietly chuckled at seeing the sheepish smile on her face. "She heard from Connor about what happened and I thought she was originally going to snap. But, she was more fearful at almost losing me."

Neither said a thing for a minute until Akiko broke the silence. "She wasn't the only one," she said, suddenly finding her feet more interesting. "I still hear what you said that night repeating in my head. I'm sure the reason you said it was because you thought you were dying. This question kept biting at me until you woke up." She turned to him with eyes begging for an answer. "And so I ask. Do you really mean it?"

The boy wasn't expecting Akiko to ask this, but it was something he knew he couldn't dodge for too long. "When I look back, maybe the reason I did say it _was _because I was dying. Most people have a habit of confessing things when their life is on the line." His hands were clenched tight, heart racing as he tried to piece together what exactly to say. I bet this is how Asuna felt, he thought to himself. "B-But… I do." Her face perked up in shock. "Every word I said that night was truth. You literally caught my eye that day in the woods when you showed your face. As time continued, I found myself enjoying your presence every time we worked together or even just eating dinner downstairs. Maybe I'm crazy, but that's how I felt. I bet that's how Asuna felt… and even now I'm hoping there's someone who can make her feel like that once again."

He felt a pair of hands take his in their grip. Akiko sat on the edge of the bed, tears threatening to fall. At first, he figured he said something wrong. He looked again and the smile on her face proved him wrong. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear that from you. Ever since we met, you made me feel like there was more to you and that brought out more in myself. Because of that, I felt like a different person around you. Not many have ever made me feel like that. But, you have, Darren. And that's something I'm thankful for."

In that moment, neither could find a fault in the other. The world around them faded to obscurity. Darren noticed a certain glint that appeared in Akiko's eyes, a glint he had never seen before until now. Akiko's hands could feel the strength and warmth in his hands; it was a nice feeling. It made her feel safe and secure. Sure, she knew she could handle herself in a battle, but now the girl was sure she would always make it back.

The two slowly leaned in, eyes closing and minds melting before their lips met in the middle. There was a spark from the contact that sent a jolt through their whole body. Akiko felt her eyes snap back open when their lips met, but they closed back, her body melting at this contact. Darren felt a warmth that started in his chest and had spread throughout his entire body.

Their hands left each other for a second as they moved on their own accord. Darren's cupped her face, his fingers feeling her skin for the first time. He admired how soft it was. The taste of her kiss was sweet and the feel of her lips was just as amazing. His mind was sent reeling.

Akiko had brought her hands to his shoulders to support herself, but it didn't help any. Her grip stayed strong, but her arms had turned to jelly. Like Darren, her mind was spinning, feeling his surprisingly soft lips on hers.

The two had parted after what felt like an eternity that was only two minutes. Both sheepishly smiled. Their foreheads touched, their faces still blushing and hearts still racing. Darren left one hand on her face, his thumb subconsciously stroking her cheek. Akiko felt herself leaning into his touch like a cat being petted by its owner.

"So… I guess that makes it official," Darren said to the wonderful girl.

"I do believe so," Akiko said to the amazing boy.

"Y-Yet…" His hand fell from her cheek. "I-I still feel a twinge from Asuna. We may be friends again, but this makes me wonder."

Akiko brought his gaze back to her. "You said it yourself, Darren. You know she will find someone who makes her feel that feeling. Even I know there is someone out there for her. Just believe someone will come to her."

He smiled and rested his hand on her face, stroking her cheek. "I like how you do that, making me feel better."

"I've done it once for you before, and I'll continue to do that. I know the time will come when you do the same for me," she said to her new boyfriend. She drew him back into another head spinning kiss. "So, are you cooking me dinner or paying for it?"

Darren couldn't help but outright laugh. "It's nice to see you're still you, Akiko. I say buy. You and Connor both know I can't cook to save my life." She laughed at his answer. He shifted from the chair to the bed. Their hands connected, the fingers filling the empty spaces. Her head rested on his shoulder and she closed her eyes. His head lay on top of hers, both content with doing nothing but enjoying each other's company.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**June 31, 2024**

Argo the Rat has worked with the Assassins plenty of times; she was their unending fount of information. True, they had their own interrogations of Templar prisoners, but she had eyes and ears practically everywhere. She was better than some of their people. They didn't really need her eyes to plot out attacks or anything of the sort, but God knows she was useful amongst the populace.

It was because of her that they were able to maintain eyes on the Templars and they always paid handsomely. She always found satisfaction in one particular Assassin. He goes by the name of Darren and was usually seen with two others, a boy and girl that go by Connor and Akiko respectively. She knew that he was the guild's tactician and close to rising to the position of second-in-command. Connor was still low in the ranks, but for being a newbie, was an amazing Assassin. Akiko was known for a combat style which could rival that of the second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood Oath, Asuna. Combined, the trio seemed to be an unstoppable force as opposed to the Assassins as a whole.

But, as far as the actual identity of the Assassins, she knew nothing about them. There was no information anywhere about their origins, guild base or anything of the sort. The only known information is most operate in small groups, stick to the shadows and always target Templars and/or Templar affiliates.

After Darren gave her an explanation as to why they target the Templars, it was a cause she found she could get behind. From then on, Argo had become their personal info broker, but of course, still went out and sold other information to the masses. The deal was that none of the information of the Assassins was allowed to leave her lips. It went against her code as guild information is usually what most people try to find; well,that and quest information.

The sun was setting on Floor 65. Argo bit into an apple she bought off of a fruit vendor earlier that day. With her hood up and her tendency to stick to the shadows, one could mistake _her_ for an Assassin. It made her laugh thinking about that.

A thought returned to her mind. Floor 65. Conquering three floors in the span of nearly three weeks was amazing. But, that's why Knights of the Blood Oath was one of the top ranked guilds in Aincrad. "My guess is they want out of this game as bad as the next person," Argo said to herself. The sound of footsteps approaching made her ears perk up. "You're late," she said, smirking at the figure.

The figure silently chuckled. "An Assassin is never late, nor is he early. 'He arrives precisely when he means to,'" he replied, quoting one of his favorites movies.

"How original, Darren. The last time I heard that, a big-footed human took off on an adventure to dispose of a ring."

"I assume that's your way of saying, 'Stop quoting _Lord of the Rings_.'"

"Not exactly. It's more of a way to say, 'Your geek is showing.'"

"In a game like this," Darren said, motioning to the town, "we're all geeks. RPGs aren't the most popular in terms of game sales unless you're a loyal fan."

Argo swallowed her bite of an apple before speaking. "So, is there anything you specifically want to know?"

"No more than the usual: any and all info on suspicious activity."

Argo motioned to the wall across the street, as if to say, "After you." He nodded and started his free run, climbing the wall with ease, Argo just behind him. He reached out his hand and pulled her up onto the roof. She took off running, Darren in close pursuit. Her head was on a swivel, trying to find the location of her target.

After a few minutes of running, the two found themselves at a roof corner overlooking a street market. Her finger pointed down below, letting her employer know that a target of interest was down below. Darren knelt and activated his **Eagle Sense**, spotting the target cloaked in a golden aura. "Well, well, well. What have we here?"

"I've tailed this guy for the past day. From what I've been hearing, he may have information on your next target. Keeps going on about some guy named Sivert."

"Sivert?" Darren parroted. "Why name yourself after a French Templar?"

"If I'm not mistaken, didn't you say your friend has the name of a Native American Assassin? That's kind of contradictory," Argo retorted, arms folded.

"At the time, he didn't know what that name meant. He just thought it was a random foreign name. But this name is so unique to the Templars it's like wearing a bullseye."

"Perhaps I can gather some more information on this guy."

"Allow me to lend some help in that." The two spun around to find Akiko, clad in her black and blue Assassin's outfit with **Hope's Crusader** resting on her hip. "Didn't think I'd let you two have all of the fun."

Darren faced her and crossed his arms. "From the way you say that, it makes you sound like there are others nearby." Akiko's finger pointed down to the street, revealing Connor mingling amongst the crowd with another female Assassin, Honoka. "Since when did Honoka get involved in our stakeouts?"

"Ever since I allowed her to. She wanted to help after I told her I'd be meeting up with you. Those two are practically inseparable, just like us," she teased. Darren felt his cheeks heat up. He eyed the fellow Assassin who was with his best friend. She wore an outfit that was similar to that of the late Altair. It was one of a simple design: black and red robes with a red rim around the hood, a leather sash around her waist, black leather bracers on her forearms that held her **Hidden Blades**, black boots on her feet and metal upper body armor under her robes. Under her hood was a girl of Connor's age with fair skin, green eyes and ebony black hair kept in a bun.

On the ground, the other Assassin duo continued to track the target in question. They maintained their distance, hiding in the crowd and trying to eavesdrop on any conversation he may have on the way to his destination. "Why did you want to do this?" Connor asked, slightly irritated.

"Hello? Besides being next to you," Honoka started, adding a wink, "I've never been on a recon mission with the guild's infamous trio."

Connor couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's childish act. "You almost sounded like a fan girl goin' gaga over her favorite singer."

Honoka blushed at his remark, replaying the scene over in her head. She dropped her chin to hide her face. Connor couldn't help but feel somewhat bad about the situation. "C'mon, fan girl. We have a target to track. But, you'll pay for this later for making me work on a day off." He took her hand and squeezed it gently.

She smiled shyly and placed a kiss on his lips. "Does that make it better?"

"It's a start," he teased.

Both teams continued to track the man. Both weren't finding any useful information on him and were about to call it a day and leave the tracking for another time. That is, until another person came along: a man dressed in Templar armor. The groups tracked the two further into town as the crowd became denser. The men were glancing around, obviously trying to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious.

"So, what's new from Sivert?" the original target asked.

"Well, for one, he wishes that you'd stop flaunting his name around so carelessly," the soldier scolded. "They have eyes and ears everywhere!"

"Right, right."

"Honestly, like a drunk, even though those don't exist in this world." The Templar continued to guide the target to the next destination. "But, he has the fort sending out a group to try and conquer the dungeon later. He'd go himself, but the bastard is already lazy enough and decided to give charge of that group over to Satoshi. They won't return until later tomorrow."

"And what of our mole? Is he still fooling those idiots?"

"Very well, actually. Who knew they'd be so gullible?"

"Maybe he's a better actor than we gave him credit for." They continued to talk about utter nonsense, then left to have a drink at the tavern.

The groups met back up on the rooftops after watching the two vanish from their sight. Connor couldn't ignore a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. "What is this mole I keep hearing about!?" he shouted.

"The better question is which guild did he infiltrate? It couldn't be Asuna's guild. They'd know about this by now," Akiko deduced.

"Wouldn't be ours. We'd have detected him for sure," Darren added.

"Are there any big name guilds?" Honoka asked.

"The **Aincrad Liberation Force**, aka **The Army** is the largest. It could be them."

"They may not be the sharpest minds out there, but I wouldn't put it past the group to not notice that."

"Let's get back to the Bureau. We can give them a warning to send out to the other guilds." Everyone nodded in agreement and sprinted back to their base, Argo in tow.

The door to the pub opened, the group stepping through the threshold. "Glad to see you back, everyone," said a voice from behind the counter. It was the owner of the pub, Edward. It turns out this man was one of Connor's friends from the beta that had eventually made his way back to him. The new disguise on Connor confused him a bit, as did the matching trio when they reunited. After a bit of explaining, Edward felt the best thing to do for the guild was to set up a bar as a front. It provided them with ample amounts of **Col**, secret entrances to the Bureau and, in Connor's case, plenty of drinking.

"Akiko and I will stay up here. Connor, take Honoka and Argo to speak with the Mentor," Darren stated after lowering his hood.

"Hold on. Why can't you two go down?" Honoka objected.

"Yeah. Technically, this was our day off. We deserve as much alone time that you two do," Connor said in agreement.

Darren felt his face heat up at his friend's statement. He suspected Akiko was blushing just as bad. "It's because you two were on ground level, listening in on everything. Akiko and I were watching over the mission."

"Even though you were originally intending to do it yourself," Argo quipped.

"If I'm also not mistaken, Honoka, didn't you want to do this?" Akiko added. Honoka's face twisted into a sour look. "That means you have to report in."

Darren placed a blindfold over Argo's eyes to keep the actual location of the **Bureau** in secrecy. Connor led the pack, Honoka assisting Argo with making her way down the steps. Once they arrived in the main hall, the blindfold was removed. Argo found herself standing behind Connor and Honoka with three more Assassins standing behind her.

"There's a reason we kept you blindfolded. We couldn't give you the location of the Bureau," Honoka stated.

"86 steps exactly. A right followed by a left, down one long flight of stairs, then another right down a flight of stairs and here we stopped," Argo said to the two Assassins.

Connor exhaled loudly. "Well, I guess the blindfold was unnecessary anyways," he said, hands clasped behind his back.

"Not true; it _did_ make it kinky," she teased. Connor tensed up as his face turned beet red. She walked behind the two to Samson's office to recap the mission.

Samson acknowledged the three as they stepped into his office. Night had fallen; it would be the last meeting before everyone turned in. Connor and Honoka talked about the eavesdrop, everything from the man named Sivert to the mole. When asked to verify, Argo put in her two cents. She and Samson weren't on a first name basis, but she had worked with Darren's group long enough to know the man's name.

Darren and Akiko were sitting at the bar, drinking and chatting with Edward. "Still kinda funny seeing Connor with that girl," Edward said to Darren.

"Believe me. In real life, he's as big a flirt as the next one." Akiko giggled and leaned into his shoulder. "No, I wasn't even remotely close in real life," he replied to the nonexistent question.

"Could've fooled me," she teased, kissing his cheek. Darren's face blushed in reply. "Still actin' like how you were before we got together."

Edward chuckled. He leaned against the bar. "Hey, if it's any consolation, I'm sort of the same with my girlfriend in the real world. But, I think love like that is hard to come by in this day and age."

The trio regrouped with their friends after their report. No assignment was given to the trio by Samson, so they could enjoy the rest of their day on their own terms. But sadly, no one could think of anything to do other than sit at the bar and drink. Connor, of course, was all game for that idea as he raised a glass in celebration.

* * *

**August 1, 2024**

Sivert, a rather heavy set, but tall man, reclined in the posh leather chair of his office. His group of Templars was sent out earlier yesterday, leaving him with only his personally chosen best guards to stay behind and guard him. He yawned and scrolled through his guild list, checking the names of those he kept with him to see if they're still around. His eyes grew wide when he saw three out of the seven names were gray. Gray was a signal of a **Player Death**. In other games, it meant their avatar lost to a boss and they would probably sign back online later. But, in the world of SAO, it meant a player was lost forever, never to come back again.

And Sivert knew what this meant for him. If one was a Templar and wasn't aware of the presence of Assassins in the game, then that individual was either completely oblivious to the world around them or in complete denial of that even being possible. But, as always, wherever the Templars were, the Assassins were not too far behind.

Two more names turned gray, signaling that his guards at the bottom of the stairwell were now gone from this world. His last line of human defense was the two guards stationed right outside of his office. He knew they would eventually fall like the others; he had to arm himself and fast. His hand yanked the sword that he always kept displayed on the wall when he was in his office.

Darren and Connor hopped over the railing and made quick work of the guards standing outside of Sivert's office. Their bodies vanished in the traditional fashion of the blue pixels. "Maybe once we get this guy, we can get more information about this mole," Darren said to his friend.

"You seem hellbent on figuring out the identity of this guy, aren't you?" Connor asked.

"When something like this happens, it can only spell doom for whatever guild he or she infiltrated," he replied. "If it's KOB, that runs the risk of Asuna being a potential target for the mole to kill. If it's another guild, such as ours, the risk stays the same for both you and Akiko. The quicker we solve this problem, the better."

"Take it easy, Darren," Akiko said to her companion. "We don't need you stressing out over this mole deal."

"Did you not hear me before? Asuna could be who this mole goes after." Darren looked down at his clenched fist, recalling his friend's grip when he stated his promise. "Or it could even be Connor, or possibly even you, too. I'm making sure that all of us get out alive, and I will continue to hold that to myself."

Akiko walked over, laying a hand on his right shoulder. "And you know we'll be right there, helping you every step of the way."

He looked up at Akiko's blue orbs, shining with the love and support he's always seen. He nodded and drew his sword, the other two following suit. His boot met the wooden frame of the door, bursting it open from the outside in. The trio stepped in, finding the Templar standing in front of his desk, sword drawn just like the others.

"And so, we meet at last, Assassins," the Templar stated. "But what a surprise to find that they would send in three kids to fight an adult!" He threw his head back and laughed. "I am Sivert; no doubt you know that already."

"That is the target we were given," Akiko replied.

"We heard about you yesterday. One of your men kept going on about you like a drunkard and his ex," Connor replied.

"And now," Darren said, leveling his sword, "here is where you meet your end."

Sivert's screen lit up with a **Duel Request**. Despite being in his office, it was enough room to hold a duel. But this duel was different; it was a **Total Loss Duel**, meaning it would end once one of the duelist's health reached zero.

The timer sounded, signaling the start. Darren struck first, swinging across to his left. Sivert managed to barely block the attack. His sword swung his opponent's blade around, leaving an opening that was fatal. Darren jumped back and followed it up with a **Vertical Arc**. A digitized vee pattern appeared on Sivert's body, draining his health to mid-green. He growled and charged the Assassin, managing to graze Darren's cheek with a simple thrust 's good, but I'm better, Darren thought as he ducked under Sivert's slice. The Templar brought his sword down in a left diagonal slash. Darren halted the attack and pushed hard against his opponent's blade, forcing him to spin around. Once the two were face-to-face again, Darren attack with a **Savage Fulcrum** combo. Sivert's health had dropped to the red, signaling his time was almost up. He quickly sheathed the **Wing of Altair** and extended the daggers in his **Hidden Blades**.

"Your time has come, Sivert. Try as you might to avoid death; I'll see to it that you still fall," Darren stated before advancing on his struggling opponent. Sivert tried in vain to attack and land a strike on the Assassin to no avail. Darren parried the strike that left an opening. He charged and jammed one dagger into Sivert's chest and the other in his jugular.

* * *

_Memory Corridor_

Sivert's breathing was ragged as his life was slowly coming to an end. "So, you've managed to vanquish me. W-Well, congrats. You've only taken out another pawn of a larger plan," Sivert managed to croak out.

"At least it leaves one less roach like yourself in this world, hindering our escape to our true life: a life outside of this virtual prison," Darren said, looking down on his fallen opponent.

"What life would you have after this? Y-You know that you will be useless if you ever get out of here. E-Every vessel taken hostage is now slowly wasting away, yours included!"

Darren's jaw clenched tight, knowing Sivert was right. Nearly two years of being in SAO had ruined his form, his physique. He wasn't concerned about that for his look, but that it was a necessity to continue the fight in the real world. "Then I guessed I saved you the trouble of having to recuperate." He knelt down and grabbed Sivert's collar. "Now, start talking about this mole I keep hearing about!"

Sivert started to laugh at the ingenious idea ordered by the ever mysterious Grand Master. "Let's just say that he m-may be closer than you might think," he replied, slowly inhaling.

"A name! Give me his name!" the Assassin demanded.

A wicked smile spread across Sivert's lips. "H-His name….is Ku…Ku-ra…" With his final breath, his body disintegrated, leaving Darren empty handed once again in his search for answers.

* * *

Akiko watched as Darren slowly stood, visibly shaking. She stepped forward, fingers intertwining with his as a sign of comfort. She heard him silently repeating something until he raised his head to the sky and shouted out in frustration. "Surely he said something, right?"

Darren inhaled a shaky breath as Connor laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Kura…that is all I was able to get out of him. Well, that and an ugly reminder that we're just wasting away in the real world."

She couldn't help but giggle at the last comment. "If you think your body is going to impress me even more in the real world, you are sadly mistaken." She let out a sigh of relief when a laugh came from Darren's laugh. It was a small one, but it was a laugh nevertheless. She pecked him on the cheek and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"C'mon. We need to let Asuna know. Maybe she can help us in our search," Connor said, patting him on the shoulder. "And maybe Honoka could, too?" All three laughed and vanished in the blue orb of a **Teleport Crystal**.

Meanwhile…

"Sir, we've just received word that Sivert has fallen to the Assassins," stated a scout. In front of him sat a man dressed in black and red robes with ornate patterns of gold decorating the hood and his wrist cuffs. "We've now lost our tactician, sir, and the Assassin that took his life has now been given the position of second-in-command. What are your orders?"

From behind folded hands, the Grand Master pondered his next move. "Sivert's loss is a tragic one to say the least, but as long as the mole stays alive, it will be a step in the right direction for the fall of the Assassins."

"Um, a-about that." The Grand Master grunted in reply. "W-Word also has it that he may have spilled the beans about the mole as well."

"The mole has been maintaining a good standing in his position. When the time is right, he will topple that guild and then there will be no one to stand in our way. Not even the Assassins will stop us!"

"So…what now, sir?"

The Grand Master stood and made his way towards the window. "For now, redirect all of Sivert's troops back to here for reassignment. The next step will be decided later."

The scout bowed. "Yes, sir. Right away, sir." He stepped out and left the Grand Master to his thoughts.

Soon, Kayaba, he thought to himself. I'll see to it that you fall and I am the only one left to rule this world. It will all belong to me.

**AN: I'm very sorry about not updating as often as I think I should be. I hope that this chapter makes up for it. And now that I have a little more free time on my hands, I should be able to update more often than before. I've also decided to get rid of the intro in this chapter, but I hope you all still liked it. I hope you enjoyed this update!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**October 20, 2024**

Sunlight bled through the curtains of Darren's room. His eyelids twitched as the sun slowly woke him. The first thing he saw was auburn hair. He smiled; it was Akiko. She snuck in last night, wishing to spend more time with him. There wasn't much protest from either party; it was one of the few nights they both received a good night's sleep.

He placed a gentle kiss to Akiko's forehead. She stirred gently, a smile appearing across her face, but, she did not wake. Darren fixed her hair behind her ear and slowly stood up from the bed. His feet padded down the hardwood steps into the kitchen. He swiped open his menu to re-read a message in his **Inbox**.

**Message from: **Asuna

**Recipient: **Darren

**Subject: **Can you believe it?

_You will not believe what happened! A couple of hours ago, Kirito singlehandedly defeated a boss! As it turns out, he has a __**Unique Skill**__. He has the __**Dual Wield Skill**__, similar to yours, but he can wield two swords at the same time! _

_Anyways, we were in a dungeon on the last floor. Turns out __**The Army**__ was there as well trying to fight the boss after they found the room. None of them stood a chance sadly. We were able to move the others to safety, but sadly a soldier named Korbatz and two others fell to this monster. It was a giant Minotaur called __**Gleam Eyes**__! This thing was a challenge. But, Kirito managed to take it down using that new __**Skill**__ of his. I almost thought the idiot was dead after he passed out._

_Thankfully, he's alive and now Floor 75 has been unlocked. We're one step closer to getting home now. Let me know if there's anything that __**KOB**__ can do about the Templars. I'll see to it that we stop them. _

_I'm sure Ayako will be happy to see you soon. We're almost there._

A tear was biting at his eye as he read the last sentence over and over again. It was a thought that stuck with him since the first day in SAO. He could only imagine how she took this situation, seeing her brother trapped in a coma, wasting away to nothing. The transition back to the real world would be hard, but only Ayako would know how to help him. "God, I miss her," Darren said to himself as the tear broke free and ran down his cheek. "Look at me. You should know she's doing fine." His ears perked up when he heard footsteps descend down the steps. He quickly brushed the tear away and put on a better face.

It was Connor, yawning and scratching his head. "Morning," he mumbled.

"Geez. Looks like sleep evaded you all night," Darren said, trying to quickly divert attention away from him.

"A lot was on my mind last night. Honoka wasn't around to help sort them out, so it was a tough time telling my mind to shut up," Connor said, sitting at the table.

"And you didn't think to ask me?" Connor made a face that told him he appreciated the thought, but only Honoka could help. "So, what's on your mind? Maybe I can try." Darren joined his friend at the table.

Connor sighed, thinking of where to begin. He figured to start with the most obvious. "What do we do after we get out?"

Darren wasn't sure how to answer. "Well, what exactly do you mean?"

"I mean as an Assassin. Sure, you taught me everything there is to be one. Does this mean I have to continue to be one IRL?"

"Yes, you do." Connor's expression didn't change. "As far as being an Assassin goes, you've experienced the training, from the beginning to everything you know up to now. Once you begin, you can never go back. That goes for everyone else in the guild as well if they aren't already Assassins. Well, there is also… if one revolts and go rogue, we kill that person."

Connor's face paled. "Not that I don't wish to be an Assassin, but I thought I would only stay one in game." His expression returned to the determined stare he wore many other times before. "But, if that's what I must be, then so be it."

Darren smiled and held out his hand across the table. "Just remember I'll be there with you. And once we get back to the real world, so will Akiko, Honoka and any other Assassins we find." Connor looked at the extended hand. He grasped it firmly with a smile.

Later that day, Darren received a message from Argo to meet her in the tavern used as the Assassin's front called **The Tangled Fife Tavern**.

Apparently, she had news that would be very surprising for him.

He pushed open the door and quickly drew back his hood. Hazel eyes scanned the room, trying to find the brown hood of the Rat. The familiar color was seen in a corner booth, out of the way of anyone else, in true Assassin fashion. His footsteps guided him in said direction and he took a seat across from Argo, itching to hear the news.

"Normally, our transactions come from the guild itself. However, from the sound of your message, this isn't our normal info swap," Darren stated, matter-of-factly.

Argo smirked from under her hood. "You're right about that. For once, consider this a freebie." She opened her menu and flipped it over to her client's view. "Needless to say, it surprised me, too."

In front of him was a headline, stating "Duel of the Century: The Paladin versus The Black Swordsman!" Darren continued to read the article. A picture of **KOB**'s guild leader, Heathcliff and another picture of Kirito were placed halfway in the article. "What the hell brought this on?" Darren asked.

Argo minimized the article and laced her fingers together. "One can only guess, but I suspect that Asuna can give you a definite answer," she said. "I bet it's because of her that you know that he has a **Unique Skill** that rivals all of the other ones out there."

So, you know, too, Darren thought. "You'd be correct. Observant as always."

"Nope. More of a lucky guess."

He blushed in reply. "Sneaky rat."

"Hello? Argo…THE RAT." Touché.

Akiko looked herself over in the mirror on Darren's dresser after tying her hair back into her trademark ponytail. Her blue eyes locked on to her reflection. All she saw was Akiko, but she found herself looking deeper. I've matured more over these past two years, she thought to herself, but, that's what happens when you're trapped in a prison, having to fight not only to survive, but to free yourself. "The struggle changed me and many others, but Darren…" She smiled and blushed as she remembered her boyfriend. "He reminds me that I'm not alone. He truly is special to make me feel like this."

"I'm touched you feel that way," said a voice. Akiko was taken aback as she felt a pair of warm arms hug her from behind, hands lacing together at her stomach. A chin cradled itself in the crook of her neck and a kiss was placed on her cheek. She smiled and placed her hands on top of those that held her tightly. "Good thing you're ready. We've got something to see today."

"Oh?" She turned around and moved her arms to behind Darren's neck. "And where might that place be?" She was hoping this meant he was taking her out somewhere.

"To see a match." And her happy thoughts were now crushed. "Apparently, two of Aincrad's most powerful fighters are taking on each other."

Akiko couldn't help but slightly huff after hearing his idea. "And here I was thinking it would be somewhere romantic," she said, slightly disappointed.

Darren smiled and rested his forehead against hers. "Who says we can't do something romantic afterwards?"

"And what, pray tell, might that be?"

"That," Darren said, tapping her on the nose, "is a secret I know and shall let you find out."

Akiko sighed, but a smile was still there on her face. "If that's the case, I can't wait to see." She closed her eyes and moved her face closer to his. Their lips met in a gentle kiss. Not too long after, the kiss escalated. It turned fierce, passionate. Darren's kisses continued to move down Akiko's neck, making the girl whimper and moan.

"Hey, Darren. You ready to- Jesus!" The two quickly let go of each other. Connor stood at the door, dressed in his Assassin's robes and a look of shock glued to his face. "Who knew? You can turn Akiko into an amazing kisser!" he teased. The couple's face flushed beet red in pure embarrassment. "Well, straighten yourselves up, lovebirds. That fight won't wait for us." Connor flashed his trademark teasing smirk and walked back down the stairs.

Akiko lightly punched Darren in the stomach. "You need to teach him to knock!" she accused with a glare. He groaned and nodded in agreement. Her features softened and placed a kiss on his lips again. "Let's get moving. I'm excited for your 'romantic' plans later." She walked out of the room, adding a sway in her hips.

Darren shook his head, smirking as he watched his girlfriend leave. "This girl's gonna be the death of me," he said to himself, "but at least I'll die happy."

* * *

Asuna chewed on her nail as the sound of the duel trumpets came to life. Kirito and his challenger, Heathcliff, leader of the **Knights of the Blood Oath**, appeared on their respective ends of the arena. The attendance was surprisingly large, even for Asuna. Her eyes continued to scan the crowd for any sign of Darren or Connor.

Her breath hitched in her throat when she felt a tapping on her right shoulder. She spun around with a hand on her rapier, ready to strike. She eased up; it was a familiar trio of hoods. Darren and Connor embraced her, wondering what exactly the duel was all about.

"I guess…it's all about me," she sheepishly said to them.

"You?" all three parroted.

"See…" Asuna went into detail to her friends about her hoping to leave the guild for a while, but her commander, Heathcliff, was adamant about the idea. Kirito decided to help settle the decision in a duel against him. "So, if he wins, I'm free to go. But, if he loses, then he has to join the **Knights of the Blood Oath**. Thing is-"

"Kirito's always been a solo player," Connor said. "I've always wondered why,"

"Well, an advantage is you don't have to worry about others. It's just you," Darren said.

Akiko watched as the two duelists drew their swords, the ticking timer now at fifty-two seconds and counting. "Unless he has a personal issue against playing with others," she said to the group. "I'll admit: I was hesitant about joining our guild because of trust issues with my group back home."

Asuna was confused, so Darren stepped in. "She's a foreigner, here on an exchange program." The girl understood and nodded in reply. "Now that you mention it…" His voice trailed off as a memory took over.

"_A-Are you all right, Kirito?"_

"_Hmm? Yeah. I'm doing fine," Kirito answered, brushing himself off._

"_Really? Because your eyes say otherwise, my friend."_

"_Trust me. I'm fine." He quickly decided to change the subject. "But, it is nice to see the Assassin still doing his business."_

"_Actually, this floor has been relatively quiet of Templars. The last contact we had with them was Floor 45. I just completed a quest; I've got items for a custom sword."_

"_Congrats on getting those. I've heard they're not easy to obtain, at least some ores."_

_Trust me, you don't know the half of it, he thought to himself. When Darren looked again, Kirito's eyes begged to leave him be and go on doing his own thing. "Well, I might as well get this sword made. Best of luck to you!" He patted his friend on the shoulder and made his way down the street, sneaking one last glance at the soloist. What happened to you?_

"Could that be it?" All eyes turned to Darren. "Sorry, wondering out loud. A-Anyways, uh, I just remembered something last year. It was the day I received my sword. Kirito and I accidentally ran into each other when I stepped out of Liz's shop to let her work on it. I noticed the spark in his eyes that was there in the fight against **Illfang** was way gone. Is it possible…?"

"Wait!" Connor interjected. "I remember now. You told me about that in the pub. We said something big had happened and he felt responsible. Maybe, he was in a guild-"

"They were killed and he feels responsible?" Asuna asked. Her hands clapped over her mouth. "H-He…didn't, did he?"

All present shook their heads. "There's no way he'd do that," Darren said. "That's out of character for him."

The timer hit zero. Kirito took off like a bullet out of a gun. His first stab was blocked by Heathcliff's shield. He continued to follow it up with a multi-hit combo: left, right, right, left. His swords turned into a blur of black and blue with his speed. Heathcliff faked Kirito by slightly pushing his shield to his face. His opponent froze which left an opening Heathcliff took. He stabbed which Kirito blocked and jumped far back. Heathcliff charged, shield staying constantly in front. He raised his sword, but instead knocked his shield into Kirito's torso. The attack sent him tumbling across the dirt.

"Wow. That had to hurt," Connor said.

Heathcliff continued to push his attack. His sword swung in a vee pattern; Kirito barely managed to block. Kirito's **Elucidator** lit up with a **Sword Skill**. He rushed Heathcliff and tried to use a thrust attack, but it was once again blocked by his opponent's shield. The shield slightly tilted, sending the thrust sliding across the metal and throwing Kirito off balance. He skidded to a stop as Heathcliff turned around. "Your reaction timing is very impressive," he said to the Black Swordsman.

"Yeah, and your defense is impregnable," Kirito quipped back.

"Almost too impregnable," Darren stated.

"Commander Heathcliff's shield is made from some of the strongest metal this game has to offer," Asuna said to her hooded friend.

"Still, he can only use that shield for so long until Kirito finds an opening."

Asuna turned her attention back to the battle. "Be careful," she whispered.

The duelists disappeared in a blur of black and red. Kirito's swords swung wildly, each blow blocked by a precise swing of Heathcliff's blade. If his sword didn't block the strike, the shield did. The two continued to trade blows until Kirito found one minor opening in Heathcliff's defense. He stabbed at his head, **Elucidator** grazing his cheek. Heathcliff's face showed disappointment at leaving such an opening. The two blades lit up in a fiery blue. Kirito swung his swords to his right side twice, and then followed it up with a downward and upward vee slash. The strikes were blocked by Heathcliff's shield, but the force of the blows were blowing his cape backwards and forcing him to shift back slightly to account for the momentum. He thrusted the two swords at the shield, breaking the defense and leaving the **KOB** commander wide open. "He's got it!" Akiko shouted. Kirito's sword swung downward.

On Kirito's end, time seemed to slow. Heathcliff managed to shift the shield that was knocked back to meet the downward swing of his opponent. The sword slid down the metal, leaving Kirito vulnerable. Heathcliff stabbed the Black Swordsman, bringing his health into the orange zone and ending the duel. The crowd went wild with the victory of the **KOB **commander. Kirito looked up from the dirt to see a scowl on Heathcliff's face. The commander turned his back and exited the arena.

The Assassins were confused; what they saw didn't add up. "Anyone else see that?" Darren asked.

"Saw it," Connor replied, "but not believing it."

"Asuna." The girl turned to Akiko. "I know your commander's strong and fast, but that was way too fast. Doesn't that seem a tad…odd?"

Asuna looked to the ground in thought. "I have to admit: that block was way too fast. He was wide open. I don't even have that kind of reaction time."

Darren eyed the man in the red armor as he walked away. "I don't know either. But, it seems like it's just another formidable rival for Kirito." He turned to Asuna. "Still, I wouldn't let my guard down around him, just in case." I wonder if he can tell me anything about this mole, he thought.

Later that day….

Heathcliff sat in his office, looking over a map of the floor he had sent a party out to. A knock sounded from the large wooden door. "Enter," he called. The double doors swung open to reveal Asuna and Darren. "Asuna and the Assassin. What can I do for you?"

"A-Actually, Commander Heathcliff, he wishes to speak with you in private, if that's all right," Asuna said to her superior.

The man nodded and Asuna slipped outside. "What brings you here to my headquarters today?"

"Information. Something that's harder to find off of any info broker," Darren stated from beneath his hood. "I'm on the hunt for a mole. Rumor has it that he's infiltrated one of the bigger guilds in **Aincrad**."

"Have you tried searching through your own first?"

"No need. If there's a mole in my guild, I surely would've noticed by now," Darren said, lowering his voice in a slightly threatening manner. "I can't be sure about **The Army** because that doesn't seem like a group that can be even the slightest bit of a problem."

Heathcliff leaned forward. His gaze pierced through the shadows of the Assassin's hood. "How so? Even they are larger than the **KOB**," he stated.

"With all due credit, what they have in size, they lack in intelligence. Most of them are just meatheads who charge before thinking twice."

"Such as yourself?" Darren quietly gasped. "Asuna told me about how you almost died because you, too, tried to charge a target. I figured that a player of your nature would know better than to charge a higher ranking Templar."

Darren's fist clenched, his teeth slightly grinding inside his mouth. "We… all have our days," he tried to joke. "But, that's beside the point. I need to find this mole, destroy him and save a guild, possibly this game from further devastation."

"What can you tell me?"

Darren paced the room as he spoke about what he knew. "The only thing I could get off of my last target was the name 'Kura' and that he had infiltrated one of the bigger guilds." He turned to the red knight. "Know anyone with something like that?"

Heathcliff's brow creased in thought. After a minute of scanning through the names, only one came up as a close match. "The only one close enough to that is Kuradeel. But, I'd highly doubt that it'd be him. I trusted him with the protection of your friend, my second-in-command."

"And last I checked, he lost to one of the strongest players and was relieved of his position. Are you sure he's that trustworthy?" Darren paused as he mulled over the potential. "Now that I think about it, he could've wanted that position to potentially kill Asuna. This all seems too coincidental," he muttered to himself.

Heathcliff couldn't help but slightly laugh. "But, these are **The Templars**. They're just a group based on historic knights. What could they possibly do to anyone to cause any harm?"

Darren slammed his hand on the wooden desk. He leaned in close, nearly exposing his face. "You have no idea what these people are capable of. In **Aincrad**, they'd take down one group, then claim some sort of a peaceful alliance and then turn right around and stab that man in the back. They'd see to it that we stay imprisoned in this game while our bodies slowly fade in the real world. They'd still do something similar to a corporate takeover IRL. And if anything, I'd say they'd start with you and your group. You are by far the strongest, the smartest and the most capable of completing this game. If it means that taking your life ensures their victory, then they'll do it."

"Sounds to me that this is more than an assignment of extermination." Heathcliff's steely gaze met Darren's eyes. "This is a personal vendetta, something to save your friend from potential death."

"If it wasn't already authorized by my superior, I would agree. But, she's my closest friend. I promised I'd get her out alongside me," Darren said. "And even if it meant defying an order to not hunt this man, I'd still do it for her sake."

Heathcliff's stare remained on Darren's for what felt like an eternity. It then all melted into an understanding smile. "There's no greater love than that of a friend's. You really do care for her. However, I still deny that Kuradeel is this mole you seek. I will still keep tabs on any potential target if it pleases you." Darren nodded in reply. "Then I believe we are finished here." Darren bowed and stepped out, Asuna joining him in step.

Darren wished to know everything about Kuradeel, but she didn't give any more than she already knew. It still did not make him feel at ease; he wanted to know more about this man. He decided to interrogate (not torture unless it came to that) the commander of the front line for **KOB**, a burly bearded man by the name of Godfried. Sadly, she informed him that the commander had taken the new recruit, Kirito, to a dungeon on Floor 55 to test his abilities. "Let me know when he comes back," he said to his friend before leaving.

Since he still had time to kill before the group would return, Darren decided to surprise Akiko and push their plans to an earlier time. And here the two now found themselves on Floor 52 in a spacious field with a lake in the center of it all. Trees, big and tall, dotted the field with colors of green and provided shade. Darren was dressed in a white and black striped long sleeved shirt with tan pants and his black boots. Akiko joined him, wearing a light blue sweater with a white collar and matching light blue pants. Brown boots were on her feet and her maroon hair still stayed high in her ponytail.

Akiko ran a bit ahead of Darren, laughing and twirling in the wide open field. "This is amazing!" she exclaimed. "And the lake looks beautiful with the sun shining on it!"

Darren couldn't help but chuckle as he caught up to Akiko and caught her in his arms. He joined in the twirl as the two slightly swayed to an invisible tune. "I remember finding this during some down time a while ago. I would've told you about it," he said, leaning closer to her, "but then this moment would be ruined."

The auburn-haired girl smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her head against his chest. She sighed in contentment as the sun warmed them. "Is there more?" she asked.

A roll of the eyes and a slight chuckle was her answer. He took her hand and led her down to the water. He swiped open his menu and removed his boots. After rolling his pants legs up, he dipped his feet in the warm water of the lake. He invited her to do the same. She blushed slightly, but removed her boots as well. Auburn colored toes joined his in the water, giggling happily.

"And now, for one time only," Darren said in a salesman voice, "a picnic, with food made by yours truly." Akiko gasped as a basket appeared on his lap, loaded with plenty of food and drink. "I asked Connor to help me with my **Cooking Skill**. And when he found out why, he couldn't deny that if I were to impress, I _would _need his help."

Akiko couldn't help but slightly tear up. "All of this, for me?" she said.

"We Assassins fight for one goal, but we can change for other goals and reasons, too," Darren said to her. "Why not learn something new for the betterment of us?"

She took a chicken sandwich from the basket and removed the wrapper. "You know you didn't have to."

He smiled and leaned in close to her. "Is it working?" His answer was a gentle kiss. "I'll take that as a yes."

The two ate and drank all of it; it was surprisingly good, or at least better than how Darren's original cooking was. For the next few moments, they did nothing; they said nothing. They merely enjoyed each other's company. Her head rested on his shoulder; their bare feet touched and lightly kicked the water.

Sadly, like all good things, peace must be broken. Darren heard a message ping. He couldn't help but grumble; he told everyone not to message him for the rest of the day. But, when he saw "URGENT!" in the subject line and that it was from Asuna, he had to check it. Akiko slightly whimpered as Darren shifted. "I know. I'm sorry, but this is an emergency, I guess." He swiped open his menu and brought up the message to read.

**Message from: **Asuna

**Recipient: **Darren

**Subject: **URGENT!

_I'm sorry, Darren. I know you said not to message you because of your date with Akiko, but this is dire._

_I think Kirito is in trouble. I'm tracking his position on Floor 55 and his cursor is currently yellow, as is Godfried's. Something's happened to them. I think they've been poisoned by someone. There's nothing on Kuradeel's cursor, so he's probably dealing with it as we speak. _

_Please, I need your help! I'd handle it myself, but the others have called me crazy. You're the only other one who can help._

Darren looked the message over again. "Shit," he mumbled. "Sorry, Akiko. We're gonna have to cut our date a little short." He stood from the water, his feet now covered with his boots and his outfit switched back to his Assassin's robes.

"What's going on?" Akiko said as she changed herself.

"Kirito and the **KOB **frontline commander, Godfried, are under attack. Asuna said she can't get reinforcements to help, so we're her only help."

"I hope he's all right."

"I hope we can get there in time. She said he was in a dungeon, so we need to reach the upper part of the cliff as soon as possible."

"Then let's not waste any time." The two pulled out their teleport crystals and quickly teleported to the **Labyrinth Canyon**.

Climbing the rock walls of the **Labyrinth** wasn't easy; it was very different from climbing a building, but it was climbing nonetheless. They made it and took of running. "I'm tracking his position now," Darren said, going as fast as he could.

"Wait! There's two others th-" One of the cursors on the map vanished; he died. "Damn! Godfried's dead. But, I'm not seeing any others with them."

Darren remembered that the Assassins had mapped the entire canyon and can track any cursors if they so wanted to. But, since most were not Templars, they left the floor alone. That is, until now. "I think we finally found our mole. We need to hurry!"

As the two neared Kirito's position, they heard some kind of yell that sounded like someone was in distress. Darren skidded to a stop, a dust cloud forming at his feet. He saw Asuna with her rapier pointed over Kuradeel's slumped position. "I don't wanna die!" he cried. Her blade hesitated just above his head.

"No! He's faking!" Akiko shouted.

Kuradeel quickly grabbed his sword and swatted away Asuna's rapier. His breathing and laughing became erratic. "The oldest trick in the book and you fell for it, bitch!" he shouted with glee.

"No!" Darren cried. He jumped from the cliff top, blade extended. Thankfully, Kirito jumped in and blocked the swing by sacrificing his hand. By the time Kuradeel turned to hear Darren's yell, it was too late. The Assassin landed on top of him and sunk his **Hidden Blades **into his chest and jugular.

* * *

_Memory Corridor_

Kuradeel wheezed as Darren removed the daggers from his vital organs, but secured his knee on his stomach. "You finally caught up to me," the former bodyguard said.

He groaned as his opponent sunk his knee deeper into his gut. "I should've known that it was you, despite Heathcliff's protests. But, it looks like the Grand Master's plan has come to a grinding halt," Darren said.

Kuradeel quietly cackled as his life was ending. "Y-You think just because you killed a m-mole that it's over for the Templars?" He removed his glove, revealing a black coffin tattoo that had a sadistic smile on its face. "T-That's a mistake."

Darren's blood froze. **Laughing Coffin**; they were with the **Templars**. "You were with the red players!"

"B-Bingo. We hire them to eliminate a guild, and they do s-so happily with a little encouragement." Kuradeel slowly inhaled a ragged breath. "We eliminated our lesser competition with them, but w-we couldn't up against this guild, e-even with **Laughing Coffin**. S-So, we take them down one at a time until we e-eliminated Heathcliff. T-That plan may be dead with me, b-but the Father of Understanding will guide them with a better one. And j-just know this: **Laughing Coffin** still lives."

Darren yanked the mole up from his collar. "Over. My. Dead. Body," he snarled.

He laughed. "T-That's the intention. Y-You can't and won't stop the **Templars**. D-Don't underestimate Crawley. He's a f-fierce beast and w-will destroy everyone and everything you hold dear." As Kuradeel exhaled, his avatar shattered and disappeared.

* * *

As Darren rose, Akiko walked over and gently embraced him. Asuna slumped to the ground just behind Kirito. She couldn't bring herself to look at anyone, not even him. She wasn't sure how long ago it was, but it was some time after the battle with **Gleam Eyes**. She didn't say a thing as he left; she didn't want to let go from that hug they shared. It was there that she realized how she really felt about him. But now, she felt like this situation was all her fault.

Tears leaked from her eyes and she started shuddering with sobs. "I-I'm sorry. This was…a-all my fault, w-wasn't it?" she cried.

Darren looked to his friend. His heart ached, seeing her cry like this. He started to walk to her. A hand on his shoulder stopped his advance. When he turned back to Akiko, she slowly shook her head. She knew he wanted to comfort her, but felt this was a time for Kirito to step in.

"Asuna," Kirito quietly gasped, turning his head towards her.

Tears leaked from her eyes and fell down to her hands. "I-I'm sorry. But, I-" She hiccupped as her sobs continued to grow. "I s-should stay away from y-you." She screwed her eyes shut as tears continued to fall. "For your sake, I-" She said nothing else as Kirito gently grasped her upper arm with his one hand and brought his lips to hers. Her eyes snapped open and slowly shut after melting into his kiss. While Darren's hand slightly clenched into a fist, Akiko gently grabbed his fist. She gave him a gentle smile that said to trust Asuna with Kirito.

After the new couple shared a tender moment, the other couple quietly approached. Asuna and Kirito looked up, slightly blushing. Darren stepped forward and spoke first. "She's precious to me." Kirito's eyes widened; he didn't expect that answer from the Assassin. "If you are to be with her, you will protect her like a precious jewel." His eyes softened as he looked at his best friend. "One like that doesn't come around a lot." Asuna slightly giggled at his compliment. "But," he sighed, "Kuradeels's dead." He decided to get off topic before it got too mushy. "He was the mole that wanted to topple **KOB** for the **Templars **and he wanted to start with you, Asuna." She gasped. "So, Kirito, think you're up for being her new bodyguard?"

The Black Swordsman smiled and nodded. "I'd give my life for her," he said to the hooded man.

"Then, I trust you with her. See to it that she remains safe…and no funny business!"

* * *

Crawley, the **Templar **Grand Master, was less than pleased over the news he received. His original plan to topple the strongest guild had fallen through. He shouted and slammed his fist on his desk in frustration. He had to think of a new plan, and fast. The guilds on the frontlines were quickly approaching the 75th floor and that meant freedom was almost inevitable.

He heard a message ping. The **Inbox **opened with a message saying, "PLAN B." He opened and this is what it said.

Message from: ?

Recipient: Crawley

Subject: PLAN B

_Grand Master, _

_I know the plan of the mole has fallen through. Sadly, __**KOB **__is still a thorn in our side. _

_However, the main threat to us is the __**Assassins**__. __They are a plank in our eye. They need to be removed if we wish to gain control. Luckily, I think I can help us in that matter. I have information that could be useful in toppling them once and for all._

_Included are two targets that could bring them down once and for all. One, a powerful leader to them all, and another that could crush the Assassin's _(Darren, that is)_ group._

_We will await further orders. May the Father of Understanding guide us._

_\+ 2 images_

Crawley tapped the file and up came two pictures of important value. One was a big, burly man with short cut black hair and a black beard dressed in black and teal Assassin robes. The caption underneath said **SAMSON, LEADER OF ASSASSINS**

The next one was a much younger target: female, dressed in black and red robes, fair skin and green eyes. The caption read **HONOKA, GIRLFRIEND OF ASSASSIN'S BROTHER-IN-ARMS**.

Crawley smiled as he eyed these targets. "Perfect." He sat at his desk and made ready to set a new plan in motion.

**AN: I honestly have no excuse as to why this didn't get out much sooner. So many days I would read it over and over again to proofread, but not add anything new. I'm very sorry and apologize to all of those who followed this. I can only hope this can make up for it and that it still holds up for everyone.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Just to give a heads up to everyone reading, this chapter won't contain much action. It's time for Darren and the others to take a minor break and enjoy some rest and relaxation. Don't worry; they're not letting their guard down completely. **

Chapter 9

**October 30, 2024**

A warm breeze brushed against Akiko's face. She was seated on a balcony overlooking one of the greatest views she had ever seen in Aincrad. In her hands was a cup of delicious green tea made by Asuna. She, Darren, and Connor were all invited by Kirito and his now-wife, Asuna, to their new home: a lovely log cabin settled in the woods on Floor 22. She took a sip from her cup as another breeze teased her auburn locks. An opening door made her ears perk up. It was Asuna, walking out on to the balcony with a fresh pot of tea. The caramel-haired girl poured another cup for her friend and then one for herself.

"This is great stuff, Asuna," she said, taking another sip of the warm liquid. "You lucked out with finding a wonderful place like this."

"Actually, Kirito is also the one to thank for this," Asuna said, waving a hand.

Akiko stood and leaned over the rail. "Hey, Kirito!" she shouted. "Great place!"

"Thanks!" he replied. That was quickly followed by him hitting the ground with a pained grunt from a right hook. "That's not fair!"

"Then don't get distracted!" Darren said to his opponent. The two couldn't help but smile and shake their heads; even on a day off, there was still training to be had. Akiko looked over at an empty third seat that was left for Honoka. She said she would be by after a quick mission, so the newlyweds left a spot for her on the back porch. Connor, meanwhile, sat in the shade underneath the porch.

And for once, everyone got to do something they haven't been able to do for a while: breathe. Not literally; they had to do that to live. It meant they were able to rest and relax without worrying about the front lines for a while. They were even able to enjoy a bit more freedom of clothing without having to wear armor.

Connor knew blue looked good on him, so he stuck with a faded blue sweater and dark blue jeans, but still kept his black boots on him. He couldn't help but smirk and slightly laugh as he watched Darren beat Kirito in a regular match of hand-to-hand combat. He knew he wouldn't be able to take Darren on in a regular fist fight; he tried that before and failed. But, after his friend trained him a little more, he was told he could handle a standard **Templar** grunt, in game and IRL.

Kirito panted after losing the fight against his **Assassin** friend. After wiping the sweat from his brow, he placed his sweater back over his black t-shirt he wore during the brawl. He watched as Darren put his white and black striped sweater back on and climbed up the pole to the porch.

Connor stood and motioned for Kirito to follow him back into the house, taking the easier way back to the where the others were. His heart leaped when he heard a knock from the door. When he opened it, there stood the girl he loved: Honoka now dressed in a red sweater and tan pants. Her green eyes glistened with happiness as she rushed Connor with a tight hug. The blue-haired boy pressed his lips to her head and walked the black-haired girl to her seat. She nodded to Asuna in greeting and was given a cup of tea.

The group passed an hour's time with idle conversation, mostly concern of their friends and guild mates. They knew everyone would be okay, but still couldn't help but slightly worry about them. To put everyone at ease, Asuna spoke up. "I've got an idea. Why don't we all go for a walk to the lake?" Everyone's faces lightly rose with the intrigue of her idea. It would get them out for a while and get their minds off of their worries.

"I'm game. Anyone else?" Darren asked.

"Let's do it!" Honoka shouted.

And so they find themselves now walking down a trail through the woods. After some convincing, Asuna was finally able to get Kirito to let her ride on his shoulders. She would giggle every now and then like a little kid, something that brought a smile to Darren's face. It was a sight he hadn't truly seen from her in quite a while. Kirito was doing wondrous things to Asuna and her image, changing it in a way that neither him nor Connor could have.

They walked past the lake where they saw a few fishermen trying to get their daily catch in or just enjoying the activity. One looked back at hearing Asuna giggle. He raised a hand and waved to everyone. All waved back in response, except for Kirito. "Hey, c'mon," Asuna said, looking down at her husband. "Wave back or he'll think you're rude."

Kirito kept his eyes to the front. "Nope. Not gonna happen," he said in reply.

Darren shook his head. "Sounding just like a little kid. Want a pacifier or a bottle?" he joked. He and Connor both laughed. A glare from Asuna quickly shut her friends up.

"Do you want me to get off?" she asked him.

"Nope. You're fine, right where you are." Kirito then started running, Asuna laughing all the while and their friends close behind.

The group continued further down the path, deeper into the woods. "A little farther and then we can see it," Kirito said out of the blue.

"See what? More trees?" Connor quipped. His laugh promptly switched to a groan after Honoka smacked him in the stomach.

"Ghosts. That's what we'll see."

"You mean like ghost type monsters in the fields?" Akiko asked.

"Nope; real ghosts." This gained a nervous laugh from Asuna and Akiko gripping Darren's sleeve. "They say there are tortured souls of hunted monsters in this forest." A rather loud twig snap made the others jump a little. "We're almost there." He continued, the others following a little closer to him. "Rumor has it that a carpenter came to the forest not too long ago to get some wood for a project. He was out for so long that it soon became night out. As he tried to turn back, he saw a pair of white figures just ahead of him. He was so terrified that he turned around and ran away, screaming." Asuna gasped and turned her head. "Was it a monster or something else?"

"Hey, look!" Asuna squeaked. Kirito stopped his story telling and looked in the direction that Asuna was pointing. She screamed and scrambled off of his shoulders. "I wanna get down! I wanna get down!" she screamed.

"What? What's wrong?" Darren said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Asuna peeked out from behind Kirito's shoulder and activated her **Searching ****Skill**. Darren followed suit with his Eagle Vision to see what she could see. "I-It's over there," she squeaked again, pointing a quivering finger.

Darren saw a few meters in front of him. "W-What the hell?" Everyone looked and was in shock: it was a pair of young girls, both dressed in a similar white dress. One had black hair; the other had light silver hair.

"No way," Kirito said in shock. Asuna cowered on the ground, hands over her ears. The rest watched as both girls fell to the ground, as if they fainted.

"Hold on. They're not ghosts," Darren said. He, Connor and Kirito ran to the fallen girls.

"Why, oh, why do our boyfriends have to go near scary things?!" Akiko quietly retorted.

Darren gently lifted the silver-haired girl, and Kirito did the same for the other girl. Upon closer inspection, the group discovered the girls almost looked exactly alike, aside from their hair color and quite possibly their eye color. "Strange," Connor mused. "They look like players."

"Only one thing: neither of them have cursors," Akiko said, kneeling next to Darren. "See?" She gently turned the head of the girl in Darren's arms. She stirred, moaning quietly. Akiko shrieked and withdrew her hand.

"It's okay, Akiko."

"Maybe it's a bug," Asuna added. "But, why are these two playing SAO? They're way too young for it." She stood and made a decision. "We'll have to wait and find out, but, we're not leaving them both out here. We'll take them both home with us."

"Right." The two stood, gently cradling the girls and walked the same path back to the log cabin.

* * *

The two girls were resting in the same bed. Everyone assumed they were family and didn't mind sharing the same bed. Everyone agreed that until they slept, they'd take turns watching over them. First were Asuna and Kirito. The rest sat on the back porch, going over their day so far. Despite their girlfriends saying not to, the boys had a smoking pipe clenched in their teeth. They were still courteous enough to keep the smoke downwind of the girls.

"To think that a day of normal hiking would end up-" Darren started.

"-in finding ghosts that aren't ghosts?" Connor finished.

"And they aren't NPCs, either," Honoka said with crossed arms. "If so, we wouldn't have been able to move them."

Akiko opened her menu and looked over her quest log again for, what seemed like, the thirtieth time. There was still nothing new. She closed her menu and rested her chin on her fist. "Might as well rule out quest giver, too. But, it's not like anything drastic is going to come out of this… is it?" she said.

"Who knows?" Darren took a drag and blew the smoke to the sky, watching as it faded. "It just might, but it might not. Our run of luck is very hard to tell, isn't it?" All in attendance nodded in reply.

Now, it was time for Akiko and Darren to watch over them while Asuna prepared dinner. Though Asuna said they could sit on their bed, they insisted to sit elsewhere. They grabbed a pair of chairs and sat near the window. Neither girl moved, let alone twitched. Though, their faces seemed to hold a slight pained expression, as if they were in the grips of a fever. Darren decided to do the one thing he would always do for Ayako when she had such an illness. He leaned forward in his chair and gently petted the head of the silver-haired girl. After seeing her face relax a bit, Akiko did the same for the black-haired twin.

Darren couldn't help but smile fondly at Akiko. "Look at you." She looked up. "You're practically like a mother, doting and all."

"So you say," Akiko replied, rolling her eyes. After seeing him do something like this, it made her wonder about his real life. Normally, it was taboo to speak about your real life in-game. She was hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'd be willing to open up a bit more to her. "Hey, Darren."

"Hmm?"

"I was wondering… a-about your life IRL. I-I mean, you know, besides…"

"Being an Assassin?" She nodded. "Well, I guess it depends on your curiosity."

Akiko bit her lip. It seemed like she treading on ice that could be thin in certain areas. "W-Well, what you did just now made me wonder… about your family." Darren's face was unreadable. Maybe he's pondering of how to answer, she thought.

"If you mean about this…" he said, gesturing to the petting, "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt." Akiko felt her heart leap. "But, only if you answer in turn as well."

"That's fair."

Darren resumed his petting. The girls seemed to be content in the couple's care. "This is something I would do for my little sister. She found this to be soothing in addition to a cool rag. They may not be under the weather, but this seems to be working." Akiko smiled, hearing about his role as a big brother. "What about you? Any siblings?"

Akiko shook her head in reply. "Only child. Got all the attention and everything. It did feel lonely though, even after my friends went home."

Darren chuckled. "That is a plus. One of many problems, though: if you need to use the bathroom, they're using it for much longer." She laughed in reply. "Still, Ayako and I have been close for a while."

"Ayako? That's a pretty name."

His face flushed in reply. "W-Wait! I-I-I didn't mean-"

"It's okay. I won't tell a soul."

"The only other ones who know are Connor and Asuna. They're my friends IRL."

"Anyone else?"

"Just my dad and grandpa."

"No mother?" Darren's face fell. "Darren? You okay?"

Bad memories resurfaced about his mom and her passing. Akiko unknowingly struck a chord and Darren really didn't want to share anything about her. "I… I'd rather not say."

"Bad past?" she asked, retracting her hand from the young girl's head.

"N-No. Great past. Just…"

"What happened?"

Warmth gathered behind his eyes and spilled over. I thought I'd gotten over her, he thought, or at least a little more than last time. "Excuse me." He stood, his bangs concealing his eyes.

"Darren?" There was no reply from him as he made his way out of the room. "Darren!" she called. His figure vanished from the threshold. "What have I done?" she asked herself.

Asuna set the cooking pot inside the oven and turned on the timer. "Should be done soon," she said to the others.

"I can't wait!" Connor called from the living room.

They heard footsteps coming from the stairs. It was Darren, who was moving at quite a fast pace. She flashed a joking smile. "You'll have to wait, Darren. Dinner…" She trailed off as her friend walked past towards the stairs leading downstairs. "…isn't done." She looked back to Connor; he nodded and waved to her. She removed her apron and followed the Assassin.

When Asuna opened the door, she looked around for any sign of Darren. He wasn't too far away, just sitting on a nearby tree stump. She slowly approached him, not sure of what happened, if anything. "Darren?" She received nothing in reply. "Are you okay?" There was no reply for a few seconds.

Until he said, "I'm still not over her." Asuna slowly moved towards him. "I'm still not over her, Asuna."

"Who? Your mom?" He slowly nodded in reply. She walked over and sat down next to him. "I understand. It may have been a few years ago, but, with someone like her, I'd imagine you'll never completely get over her passing."

Darren sniffed and wiped his eyes. More tears still fell. "I thought I was stronger than this."

"Why? Because you still aren't over her death?" Asuna leaned against her friend. "Some take longer to get over, Darren. Your mom, from what you've told me, was a loving, caring woman. How can anyone easily forget a passing like that?" An idea popped into her head. "I'm gonna check on dinner. When you feel you're ready, just come in." She gave him a very tight hug before standing and heading back to the cabin.

Akiko's gaze was trapped on the floor. She still felt bad about accidentally bringing up old memories for Darren and it then reminded her of a similar event in her life. Needless to say, her mood wasn't exactly the greatest right now. Her head snapped up after hearing a knock. "Come in," she weakly replied. There was Asuna, who padded her way towards her chair. "Still nothing from either girl."

"It's okay." There was a pregnant pause. "Darren told me about what happened, Akiko."

Shock and worry painted her face. "O-Oh. L-Look, I didn't know that-"

Asuna raised a hand to silence the female Assassin. "I know you didn't. At first glance, no one ever does. I've comforted him before about this. But, now, I feel that this is something for you."

"M-Me?! But, I-I put him there!"

"And you can bring him back. Akiko, I know how he feels about you. He loves you like crazy. It's not gonna ruin your relationship. This is something that can bring you closer together. So go." Akiko seemed deep in thought, and then became determined. "Don't worry about the girls. I can get Connor and Honoka to watch them. Go. Darren could use a shoulder." Akiko nodded and made her way out to her boyfriend.

Darren's ears perked up at the sound of footsteps. "Is dinner ready?" he asked in a somber voice.

"Actually, not yet." He turned around to see Akiko instead of Asuna. "H-Hey. I'm sorry, Darren."

"Don't be. You had no idea."

"That may be, but I still feel responsible for bringing this up." Still no good reply. "I know how it feels, too. I feel the same way about my grandfather."

Darren moved over to let Akiko sit next to him. "I'm guessing he was just like your grandfather and watched you grow up in the same house." Darren nodded. Tears gathered in Akiko's eyes. "He passed away two years ago to cancer." He looked over to see her shuddering with slightly suppressed sobs. "By the time they found it, it was too late. I never even got to say goodbye. I was away on a mission." Darren's gaze softened as Akiko began to openly cry. "Like you, I thought I was over his death, too. But, I'm not. I don't know when or if I will." She let him wrap his arms around her in a tight hug and she cried into his shoulder. He quietly sobbed as well.

The two grew quiet, having cried enough. They did nothing but enjoy the comfort of each other's arms. "It still hurts," Darren said.

"Who knows when it won't," Akiko replied.

"But, I only know one thing."

"What's that?"

Darren decided to say it and be honest after realizing it. Like Asuna said, he was crazy in love with Akiko. An event like now proved it for good and he would see to it to be with her. "I will be right there until the pain does pass. Forever."

Akiko looked up at his eyes and saw nothing but truth. Her eyes glistened again with tears. She squeezed him and placed a searing kiss on his lips. "I'm holding you to that, you know," she said to him after releasing the kiss. Darren chuckled and kissed her forehead. The two turned and walked hand in hand back to the cabin.

* * *

**October 31, 2024**

Despite Darren and Akiko's peaceful sleep, someone still came knocking in the morning. The boy stood up, groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes; Akiko grumbled and nuzzled into the missing warmth of Darren's blanket. Asuna was there when he opened the door. "Whatever it is, can't it wait for like a couple more hours?" he asked, yawning.

"No. And here's why," Asuna said. Darren waited on a slightly bated breath. "The girls are now awake." Suddenly, he was wide awake and, after hearing what was said, so was Akiko. The two quickly rushed up to Kirito and Asuna's bedroom. There, on the spare bed in their room, sat the now awake mystery girls. Connor and Honoka sat in a corner just by the window.

The black-haired girl had a pair of charcoal gray eyes, cautiously watching the newcomers enter the room. The silver-haired twin had light blue eyes that seemed to almost twinkle when they saw Darren and Akiko. "They woke up a few minutes ago," Kirito said to the others, "They can't remember anything, not even how they ended up in the forest."

"What about their names?" Akiko asked.

"Oh. W-Well, what are your names?" Asuna asked.

Both seemed to struggle at remembering their names. "My name…i-is Yui," the black-haired girl finally said. "That's it. Yui."

"That's a cute name," Asuna said in reply.

Akiko sat on the bed near the other girl. "And what about you?" she asked. The twin seemed to shrink back under Akiko's gaze. "It's okay. We're just curious."

The girl sat for a few seconds before finally uttering her name. "I-I'm…Y-Y-Yue."

"That's a cute name, too," Honoka cooed.

"My name's Asuna and this is Kirito," Asuna said, introducing herself.

"Ki'ito? A'una?" Yui struggled to say.

Darren nervously chuckled and turned to Yue. "How about you? I'm Darren, and this is Akiko."

"D-Da'en." She turned to Darren's girlfriend. "Aki'o?"

"Eh, close enough for me," Connor said. "Let's try me. I'm Connor and this is Honoka."

"Co'or," Yui said.

"Hon'ka," Yue mirrored. Honoka faceplanted after hearing her name said in such a strange manner. Connor tried his hardest not to laugh, the immaturity in him slowly getting the better of him.

"Names aside, can you remember anything else? Like, why you two were in the forest?" Asuna gently asked. "Or, maybe where your mom and dad are?"

The girls looked at each other, struggling to remember. Both shook their heads in response. "I can't remember a thing," Yue said.

"Neither can I," Yui sadly added. Slight shock spread across everyone's faces. Akiko rushed to grab some water for everyone, even the girls. When she came back, Kirito was trying to brighten everyone's mood.

"You can call me Kirito," he said to Yui. "C'mon. Try again." Still, Yui struggled to properly pronounce anyone's name. Yue was having just as much of a problem with it, too. Akiko passed out glasses to everyone, even the twins, who graciously took a good drink. But, even after, they still couldn't get it right.

"That's okay," Kirito said, patting Yue on the head.

"They'll learn eventually," Darren said, resting a hand on Yue's shoulder.

"Just call us whatever makes you feel comfortable," Akiko said.

The girls' pondered her sentence for a moment, and then looked up with a response for everyone. Darren was drinking from his glass when he heard Yui say her reply: "Daddy." When he heard that, he tried his hardest not to do a spit take and ended choking on the water. He coughed as Akiko clapped his back.

"Daddy," he heard Yue say. When he opened his eyes, he wiped them clear to see the silver-haired girl looking at him the same way Yui was looking at Kirito.

"Me? Seriously?" he said in shock.

Yui turned to Asuna. "A'una is…mommy." She gasped, definitely not expecting that as her answer.

Yue looked at Akiko and uttered the same thing. "Aki'o is…mommy, too." Akiko blushed beet red. Both girls whimpered at the couples. Connor and Honoka sat on bated breath, waiting to hear their friends' response.

Asuna smiled with a sympathetic glimmer in her eye towards Yui. "Okay, then. I'm mommy." Yui smiled and cheered with joy about her newfound parents.

Yue looked on at Akiko and Darren, unsure of whether she said the right thing or not. Neither had said a word to her, let alone anyone else in the room. She was brought out of her revelry by a hand on her shoulder and one to match on her right hand. The two seemed a tad uneasy, but happy nonetheless. "And we'll be mommy and daddy to you as well." Yue joined her sister in the same joyful cry as she embraced her new family.

Connor almost choked up at seeing such a lovely sight. Honoka squeezed his shoulder, almost feeling left out of a joyous occasion. "Hey," they heard Asuna and Darren say to them, "they are gonna need an aunt and uncle, you know." The girls climbed down and ran to their "aunt and uncle," who hugged them tight and swung them around. The room was bright and happy once again with the sound of laughter and the start of a new family.

"You know," he said, "kinda strange how you're both related and you want different parents." He looked Yue in the eye. "But, I gotta say, you do seem more like Darren and Akiko." Yue giggled and gave her new uncle a tight hug.

* * *

Asuna started on breakfast with help from Honoka as Kirito read a paper on the couch and Akiko played with the girls on the couch across from them. Darren and Connor were talking to each other in the comfy chairs at one end of the table in the living room.

"Now _this_," Connor said, "is something I definitely didn't expect."

"What? Me being a parent and both of us being uncles?"

"Pretty much. This game has thrown a lot of curveballs since the very beginning, but this came from out of nowhere."

The two laughed at their luck, not cursing it at all. Asuna walked in, carrying a dish of spicy beef sandwiches for everyone and regular beef sandwiches for the girls. The boys dug in, not at all caring about the spice that came with the meal. It eventually got to Darren so much that he had to drink a glass of milk to ease the heat.

Despite all of this happening, Yui couldn't help but look with intrigue at the spicy sandwich that Kirito was eating. He noticed this out of the corner of his eye. Looking back, he said, "Oh, I don't know, Yui. This one's super spicy. Just look at your uncle." She looked over at Darren still choking on the heat from his sandwich.

"I want the same one that daddy has," she said, insisting on trying despite what she saw.

After his coughing fit finally stopped, Darren said, "I advise you, Yue, to probably avoid this sandwich."

"Oh, grow up, you big baby!" Asuna jokingly scolded from across the table. Yue did believe that it didn't look as good as just the regular sandwich. She picked up a sandwich from the table and Yui took the spicy one handed to her by Kirito. Both looked at each other and took a bite. Everyone leaned forward to see if they actually admired Asuna's cooking. After swallowing their food, they seemed to be okay with it. "I like it," they both said, albeit with slight discomfort coming from Yui.

"Talk about an iron stomach," Darren said, still slightly red in the face.

"She must get it from her dad," he said.

"At least Yue had common sense not to eat the spicy one."

"That must come from her dad," Akiko joked, sitting next to him. She took his hand, squeezing and giggling. Darren smiled and kissed her knuckles.

Everyone continued to eat their fill. After only one sandwich, Yui and Yue fell asleep. They were now resting on one couch, their heads on opposite arms of the furniture. Everyone else couldn't but smile at seeing the two sleep so peacefully and their faces not looking pained. "Just look at them," Honoka said, resting her chin on her hand. "Aren't they precious?"

"They sure are, Hon'ka," Kirito teased. His laugh changed to a groan after she punched him in the shoulder.

"Whatever, Ki'ito," she retorted.

The group discussed what would become of the girls now. They knew their family still had to be somewhere out there in Aincrad, and they had to reunite them and fast. "They're both blank slates, though," Kirito said to Asuna.

"I know. I just-" Asuna choked up, tears threatening to fall at seeing the girls so vulnerable. Despite not saying a word or showing how she felt, Akiko was the same. When Darren she was like a doting mother, she took that as a compliment. In a way, even though it's been such a small amount of time, Yue became the daughter that she wanted to eventually have. She rested a hand on her friend's shoulder, nodding and agreeing to her feelings. "But-"

"But it's a catch twenty two," Kirito continued.

"We can't stay here forever. The game still has to be cleared and the **Templars **still remain a threat," Connor said. He folded his hands and leaned against them. "I vote that we go to the **Town of Beginnings** and search for their family there." The girls solemnly nodded.

Darren leaned against Akiko. "Trust me. I don't want to leave them so soon either."

"Really?"

"Me neither," Kirito agreed. "It's almost like a... completed home feel."

"Taking care of another that isn't a sibling is… somewhat invigorating." Darren chuckled. "Granted, she's no handful like my sister, but, she just may be. And I'd be ready for that." Akiko smiled and kissed his cheek.

They all stood and made ready, equipping all the essential gear for the search mission. After waking Yui and Yue and getting them changed, they set out to find their parents.

* * *

Yui and Yue squinted from the bright sun on Floor 1. "It's been a long time since we've been here," Kirito said, looking around. Everyone, save for the young girls, had a flashback to the horrible moment that left them trapped in this virtual nightmare.

Asuna shook her head to erase the thought. "So, Yui." The girl was currently riding piggyback on Kirito. "Do any of these buildings look familiar to you?"

Yui, dressed in a pink sweater, dark gray skirt and brown shoes, shook her head. "I don't know," she replied.

Darren knelt down to Yue. "You, too?" She was given a purple sweater, a white skirt and black shoes. A sad look came to her face and nodded. "That's okay." He turned around and set his arms back. She climbed on to his back and held tight as he stood up. She could see a little clearer, but still saw nothing familiar.

"Sorry, daddy. Nothing looks familiar," she said, leaning her chin on his shoulder.

"The **Town of Beginnings **is a big area," Akiko told her daughter, "and there's a lot of ground to cover."

"Not to worry," Connor said. "If we go up, we can probably find something."

"Are you crazy?!" Akiko snapped. "I'm not letting my daughter climb up that high!" Akiko gasped and clasped her hands over mouth. She openly called Yue her daughter, something she didn't really expect to do.

"It's okay, mommy," Yue said in a reassuring tone. "I know daddy and uncle won't let me fall." Akiko sighed, smiling happily. She ruffled the girl's hair, earning a giggle in response.

Their first stop was the **Central Market**. The area had an eerie feel to it, with little to no players walking around and plenty of NPC vendors to spare. By Kirito's estimate, there were only around two-thousand players left on Floor 1, most including **The Army**, aka the **Aincrad Liberation Front**. Despite these numbers, the floor was still too quiet.

That is, until they heard a shout from a nearby alley. "Leave those children alone!"

"Hey, it's that daycare bitch!" a male voice shouted back.

"We've been waiting for you," another snapped.

"That doesn't sound good," Asuna said.

"You go ahead. I'll catch up," Akiko said.

She ran at an abandoned stand and climbed up to the rooftop. The others ran to find the source of the commotion. Darren tracked the path with his Eagle Vision, following the path of red from some soldiers' footsteps. One sneered and chuckled in response. "You make it sound like we're doing something illegal, sweet cheeks. We're just showing 'em how things work around here, making sure they pay their way."

"It's all part of **The Army's **job, ma'am," another said.

"That's right. Everyone has to pay taxes around here." All of them laughed in response.

Akiko followed the sound of the haughty laughter. She slowed her run as she saw the soldiers trapping the kids up against the wall. "What a disgrace, you bastards," she snarled.

"Help us, Sasha! Please!" the girl of the group, Mina, cried.

"It's okay. Just give them your money," she said to her students, "and they'll let you go!"

"We tried, teach!" one of the boys, Ginn, called back.

"They said it's not good enough!" the other boy, Cain, added. Sasha gasped that these men were sinking this low to children.

"You know, you deadbeats owe us a lot in back taxes," the leader said, stepping forward. "You can drop all of the equipment you have right there," he added with a lecherous tone, "including your armor."

"C'mon, honey. Don't be shy," the second-in-command encouraged.

Sasha stood her ground and made to draw her dagger. "No way. Now let me through or else. Stand aside!"

The sound of running boots was closing in on the scene. It was Kirito and the others who had finally caught up. Two figures jumped and cleared the soldiers. One was Asuna, who ran to check on the kids. The other was Kirito, who blocked the soldiers' only escape route. Darren, Connor and Honoka stood next to Sasha, ready to fight if the need arose. All of the soldiers were shocked at the sudden appearance of these vigilantes. Asuna reassured the kids and had them pick up their belongings.

"Hey, hey!" one soldier shouted.

"Who the hell do you think you are!?" the second-in-command shouted. "This is **Army **business, so get out of our way!"

"Hold on," said the commander, "I got this." He marched forward to address the newcomers. "I guess you're all new here, 'cause we're with the **Liberation Army **and you DO NOT MESS WITH US!" He drew his sword to emphasize his point. The kids and Sasha gasped, but no one else so much as flinched.

Asuna stepped forward in retaliation. "Darren. Kirito. Take care of the girls. I've got this," she said to the boys, drawing her **Lambent Light**. The commander laughed as if this was some bad joke. A small girl compared to his size was a proverbial David versus Goliath. Boy, was he wrong. Asuna fired up a powerful **Thrust Skill **and knocked the commander off of his feet. As he hit the ground, he heard two more guys fall with a pained grunt. He looked up to see a hood and daggers coming from the attacker's wrists. He was now quivering in fear. He and his group had now become a target of the **Assassins**. Another **Thrust **brought his attention back to Asuna. The men were stunned in shock and fear at the might at the two girls.

"Don't worry, chump," Akiko said from beneath her hood. "Your health won't go down no matter what, but, we can keep knocking you around like this all day long." She readied her **Hidden Blades **as Asuna leveled her rapier.

"Ready for round two?" Asuna asked.

"Always," Akiko said, laughing. The second-in-command swung his sword at Akiko, who merely ducked under the swing and stabbed both daggers at his chest, knocking him to the ground. The commander tried to crawl away, but was hit in the back by another attack from Asuna.

His pride was less than intact, but the commander of the group insisted on revenge. "Don't just stand there, you assholes! Do something!" The group of soldiers didn't acknowledge his orders; they turned tail and ran screaming out of the alley, the fallen leaders following close behind. With a flourish and a flick, the girls sheathed their weapons and Akiko lowered her hood. They turned back to the kids, but, didn't expect them to be looking at them in shock and awe. They cheered for them, praising their actions that saved them and their teacher. Sasha couldn't give enough thanks for saving them from the brutes.

"Reminder to self, girls: don't cross these two at all," Darren joked. Connor nodded and nervously laughed in response. Neither girl responded. He looked back to see Yue with a worried and pained look on her face. Yui extended her hand to the sky. Yue tightly gripped Darren's shoulders.

"Their hearts," they both said. "Everyone's hearts are…"

"Yui?"

"Yue?"

The girls were mumbling about people and their hearts. Nothing was making sense to anyone around. "Did you remember something?" Honoka asked.

"I… I…" Yui stuttered.

"- w-was never here," Yue mumbled.

"We were alone in the dark," they both said, fear encompassing their voices. Everyone was getting worried about their new family. Suddenly, the twins cried out with an ear piercing screech, accompanied by a deafening white noise. They were losing consciousness and fell from their fathers' shoulders. Their mothers caught them before the hit the brick road. "Mommy…" the girls cried. Yui and Yue looked up, absolute terror on their faces. They buried their face in their respective mother's shoulder, crying in fear. It didn't last long; they promptly fainted.

"What was that?" Asuna said to the unresponsive girl in her arms.

"What are they?" Darren and Connor asked.

**P/AN (Post author's note): I apologize for not getting this chapter up to everyone in so long. Work has me going late and my days off are spent with friends (surprisingly, the outside world isn't all that scary). Couple that with writer's block and it's just less than pleasant. If you're trying to picture what Yue looks like, she looks the same as far as body goes. The only difference is her hair (light silver) and eye (light blue) color. If this story is still going good, message me and review. If it isn't, message me, but try to be professional. I need any and all criticism because I know this can always be better!**


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